X-Force Daycare
by dead-raccoons
Summary: Nate Summers AKA the mutant known as Cable finds his true calling as a daycare director. Inspired by my longtime love of the X-Books Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, New Mutants and Generation X and based on my own experiences as a daycare teacher and my daily life with a toddler. Chapter 15: Nick learns to navigate his way around his new school and intimidating new teachers.
1. The Treehouse (Sorta)

_**Well, hello, everybody! How are you?**_

 _ **This is a story I've wanted to write for quite a while. It focuses mainly on Cable AKA Nathan Summers, but also characters from the X-Titles Generation X, New Mutants and X-Force. Characters from the X-Men, such as Jean Grey and Nightcrawler, will also play a central role.**_

 _ **You can read my other story, NeXt Genesis, to get a more general idea of this universe, but you don't have to - it reads well as a stand-alone story.**_

 _ **I have always wanted to write a story about a daycare or preschool setting and anything concerning the children of the X-Men interests me. So I hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Please read and review, my friends!**_

 _ **I want to try and keep the chapters rather short and sweet with this story.**_

 _ **These characters belong to Marvel. Except for Nick. He is mine.**_

 _ **Thanks and cheers,**_

 _ **-Maria**_

 ** _"_ _Raising kids is part pure joy, part guerilla warfare."_**

 **-Ed Asner**

 ** _Episode 1: The Treehouse (Sorta)_**

"Will they be bigger than me?" Nick asked his father.

Jonothon Starsmore glanced at his four-year-old son peering anxiously at him in the car's rear-view mirror. The little boy had his dad's messy shock of brown hair and large soulful brown eyes. Jono would have smiled if he still had the lower part of his face. His lower jaw and chest had been blown away when his mutant powers had manifested when he was 18-years-old. Since then, he had kept his chest tightly wrapped and his lower face covered to contain the fire he constantly emitted from the cavity in his body.

Needless to say, Jono could not talk verbally, but he had other ways to communicate.

 _Some of them might be_ , he replied, projecting his "words" telepathically into his son's mind.

Around the time his powers manifested, Jono had developed telepathy as a means of communication with others since he no longer had a mouth.

 _Miri will be, but then she's older than you. Almost six_ … Jono continued.

Nick nodded nervously. Miri was from his play-group. He liked the tall girl with the green eyes; he knew her, but these other kids … he didn't know them and that made him feel insecure. Nick liked a schedule. He liked for things to go as planned. He liked to be surrounded by people he knew and things he was familiar with.

"Miri will bring the Red Monkey Book," Nick said. _I hate the Red Monkey Book_ , the boy's thoughts invaded his father's psychic mind. _Miri brings it every time to play-group._

Nick had only lived with his dad for two months. He did not yet know his father could pick up on his "louder" thoughts. Like any ethical telepath, Jono would never intentionally invade the privacy of someone's mind, especially his son's, but if somebody had an extremely strong emotion or thought, he picked up on it instantly. It was like someone screaming at him.

He was only too aware of how much little Nick loathed the Red Monkey Book, but he also sensed his son's relief. The Red Monkey Book was familiar; it was safe. Detestable, but safe.

 _How 'bout some music, eh_? Jono asked his son telepathically. He pressed a finger to the car radio and "Caroline, No" began to play. Nick didn't say anything, but a small smile tugged at the boy's face and one sneaker jiggled happily to the song. Their shared loved of The Beach Boys was rare common ground for father and son; it gave them something to bond over.

" _Where is the girl I used to know? How could you lose that happy glow? Oh, Caroline, no_ …" Nick crooned softly to the music as he stared out the car window at the houses and trees flashing past. A small dog barked and chased them for a couple yards.

Jono felt a burst of happiness at his son's talent, an unfamiliar feeling he was clumsily beginning to recognize as parental pride; already his son was a natural musician.

All too soon, the car-ride was over and the sleek Lexus was pulling up alongside … _a tree_?

Nick leaned forward to peer at his dad over the front console. "Is this the right place?" he asked anxiously.

Jono fumbled at an address in his shirt pocket and squinted at the writing. _Umm, yes_ … he replied, trying to appear confident and reassuring to his young son, but he could detect the doubt radiating off Nick's mind. Nick still didn't trust his father and it hurt Jono's already weak self-confidence as a parent.

 _Does he even know for sure?_ Nick's strongly indignant thoughts whispered through Jono's head. _Mum wouldn't make this mistake._

That last thought made Jono wince.

Hiding his own anxiousness as best he could, the man turned around to pat Nick's knee. _It's probably one of Nate's jokes. You know how he is._

 _No, I don't_ , Nick's silent thoughts replied, but the boy was too well-bred to talk back, verbally anyway, to an adult – even one who really didn't seem to know what he was doing. If Nick knew his dad could "overhear" his private thoughts, the naturally polite boy would have been mortified.

Jono got out and went around to the car's rear to unbuckle Nick from his carseat.

"I got it, Jono … uh, Dad," Nick said quickly, unstrapping himself.

Jono had forgotten his son was capable of that. The man, tall and handsome except for the gaping hole in his chest, rubbed his fingers through his messy brown hair in a befuddled way.

 _You don't have to call me 'Dad,' Nicki_ , he stated. _I mean, if you don't want_ …

"S'okay, Dad," Nick said verbally. _It's not,_ his thoughts added. _And don't call me Nicki. Gross._

Jono sighed.

He reached for his little boy's hand, but Nick seemed to instinctively flinch away. "Um, I don't need you to hold my hand … _Dad_ ," the boy stated in a voice that was both polite, but firm and detached. "I'm four. Almost five."

Jono recalled Nick's wild and beautiful mother, Gayle, and wondered where the child had gotten his reserved personality.

 _Yeah, of course_ , Jono replied in resignation.

Father and son approached the gigantic tree with matching suspicion and trepidation. Nick tipped his head back to try and see the tree's crown. He had never seen a tree this big. It also looked strange. He'd never seen a tree like this one before.

Proper trees grew _up_ , Nick thought. This tree grew _out_. It might have been his imagination, but Nick thought the tree's branches were reaching out towards him and his father like enormous arms.

But it was very, very pretty. Each of its twigs was tipped with a pale pink blossom that seemed to hold a glimmering red jewel at its center. The wind seemed to shake the tree and its pink blooms seemed to whisper words to Nick he could barely understand:

 _Come in … Come in …_

Nick wondered how something so beautiful could also seem so menacing.

Jono noticed his boy didn't try to hide behind his father the way he would have expected a four-year-old to do. In fact, Jono picked up on his son's frantic mental plan of escape in case this bizarre situation turned dangerous; Nick didn't even consider his father would protect him.

 _Y'know_ , Jono spoke to his son psychically, trying to break up the tension that was so thick between them even a non-telepathic person would notice it. _This tree is very special. It's a rose tree. They usually only grow in Wakanda-Askani. That is a country far away from here –_

"Yes, I know about Wakanda-Askani. Miri told me," Nick replied. "In the rainy season, the rose trees bloom and there are so many that the land turns pink." The boy's tone was carefully polite, but Jono sensed the consternation that belied his informative response. Nick was impatient that his father would assume he didn't know things.

The groove of the giant tree's bark seemed to suddenly swirl into a pattern similar to a face that peered belligerently at the pair.

"I-I'm not wearing my favorite socks! The ones with the whales!" Nick suddenly exclaimed. "I-I've gotta go back to your house and get them!"

The boy scampered back to the Lexus. Jono was alarmed and exasperated when he detected his son's thoughts were consumed with how to possibly drive the car back to the apartment they shared. He was _four_ for Christ's sake!

Nick plastered himself to the driver's side door after frantically (and futilely) trying to pry it open.

 _Nick, calm down and come back_ , Jono ordered him, clamping down on his patience.

Nick scrambled under the car and out of his father's reach. "No! No! The scary tree will kill me!"

 _It's a tree, son_ , Jono explained.

"Miri's mum said you and your friends are always being attacked by strange things!" Nick said.

Jono's face appeared at eye-level with Nick as the man, on hands and knees, peered under the car at his boy. His big brown eyes were pleading. _I've never been attacked by a tree. Honest._

 _Not taking any chances_! Nick's thoughts stubbornly stated as the boy refused to budge.

 _Come in … Come in_ … the tree insisted as the wind rustled its leaves. The tree-trunk seemed to reassemble itself and suddenly a door only a few inches taller than Jono appeared in the trunk.

 _Look, it wants us to come inside_ , _Nick_ , Jono stated.

 _And that isn't a trap_?! Nick thought frantically _. Do I look stupid? Nope. Nope. Nope._ His thoughts turned back to his desperate plans of escape. OK, so he couldn't _drive_ the car. But a motorist might pick up a hitchhiker.

 _Nick … please_ , Jono begged.

He had no idea what to do. He knew Nick didn't like him, but the boy had never been disobedient to his father. In fact, Nick wasn't at all what Jono expected a small child to be. Based on what the man had heard from other parents of young kids, preschoolers were little monsters, but Nick was meticulous, soft-spoken, fastidious and cautious. He had better table manners than any other four-year-old, Jono thought. Hell, he had better manners than most thirty-year-olds.

Mealtimes shared by father and son were quiet affairs, the silences stretching long between Jono's lame attempts at conversation and Nick's monosyllabic answers. The shy boy was very careful not to get in his father's way or inconvenience him in any way. Nick dressed himself carefully every morning and prepared his own bowl of cereal and milk – or toaster pastries.

However, Jono did hear some scratching and scraping in his bedroom and found, unbeknown to the boy, his son discovering his old guitar and record collection. Later on, Jono had taken Nick into his bedroom to show him his rock memorabilia - the Ramones posters, the signed Jerry Garcia photos.

Nick had feigned indifference, but his thoughts were very open to Jono and anyone, telepathic or otherwise, could have seen the boy's eyes light up when he spotted a copy of "Pet Sounds" in his dad's record collection.

Now, however, Jono had no clue how to make his son obey him. Should he drag him out? Yell at him? No, the boy was frantic and scared enough.

 _I said come … IN_! a voice, presumably the tree's since it spoke in that same weird whispery way like the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, demanded in a not-so-casual tone this time.

One of its gnarled roots, which Jono and Nick were unknowingly crouching over, suddenly sprang up out of the ground and flipped the car neatly over. Before Nick's shock could turn to terror, the tree's root rolled father and son up off the ground and through the recently materialized door in the trunk.

The boy and his dad suddenly found themselves standing a little dazed and ruffled, but mostly unhurt, in a wide circular room where children and grownups alike stood around chatting and laughing. Huge branches arched high above their heads as their pink blossoms quivered in a breeze; the sky appeared in bright blue patches above. All around them was the smooth wood of the tree trunk.

They were standing _inside_ the tree!

 **Next time: A Gen X class reunion looms as Jono sees familiar faces again and Nick meets potential new friends. Let me know what you think, readers! Gen X was one of my favorite comics when I was a kid.**


	2. The Class Reunion (Part 1)

**Greetings everybody!**

 **Thank you to kataract52 for your review! Yes, I do indeed love Cable too and I've always longed to write a story focusing on him. In fact, I love all the Summers kiddos. (Rachel Grey-Summers being my personal favorite. She will also make an appearance in this story.)**

 **Thanks again!**

 **These characters belong to Marvel. Except for Nick and Joe. They are mine.**

 **-Maria**

 ** _Episode 2: The Class Reunion (Part 1)_**

Nick glanced around as fear and wonder did battle in the pit of his stomach.

Holes, leading up to the branches or down to the roots, Nick presumed, appeared in the giant tree's bark and kids came crawling and scurrying like hamsters into and out of the main room where Nick stood with his father. Nick glanced over his shoulder and saw the door they had been thrown inside had suddenly vanished. Panic wedged itself in his throat.

Suddenly, what appeared to be a white blur came spinning out of one of the hamster-holes in the tree trunk straight towards Nick.

 _Fight or flight!_ the boy thought and there was nowhere to run.

Knees shaking, he stuck out his fist to shield his face and the spinning ball of energy crashed into him like that hedgehog in the video game. Nick half-expected little gold rings to pop out everywhere.

Nick tumbled to the smooth cool floor. Suddenly, he heard laughter above him. A boy lay in a wriggling giggling heap on top of him, squashing Nick's face into the ground.

"Whoops! Ha-Ha, Sorry!" the boy stated, chortling.

He shifted his much heavier weight so Nick could breathe. Nick scrambled to his feet, expecting a fight. He'd never been in a fight before. He didn't really know what to do.

But the boy who ran into him was still chuckling good-naturedly.

"Hi, do I have a shiner?" the kid, who looked about Nick's age, asked.

"A – what?" Nick stammered.

"Y'know, a black-eye?"

"Umm …" Nick hummed.

Actually, the skin around the boy's eye was turning swollen and blue, apparently where Nick's fist had made contact with his face. But, somehow, that wasn't the strangest thing about the kid. His hair was two-toned. Parted straight down the middle, one side was smooth and white, the other was kinky and dark-brown. And his large blue eyes seemed out-of-place in his light brown face.

As the skin around the kid's left eye turned a darker shade, Nick started to panic yet again, not because he was afraid of being eaten by trees, but because everyone knew what happened to kids who started fights at school. They got expelled and that was worse than death.

"It's, uh, blue," Nick said, trying to sound helpful.

"Really?!" the boy said, bouncing a bit on his toes. Nick had never seen anyone who was so happy to get punched in the face. In fact, he'd never met anyone who had been punched in the face. His mum told him only bad children got in fights and Nick shouldn't play with them.

"How does it look? Is it terrible? Tell the truth!" the boy demanded.

Nick stared. He knew it was rude, but he couldn't help it. "Um, awful?" he said as tactfully as possible.

"Ha-Hah, yes!" the boy shouted, punching the air. "It really looks like I've been in a fight! Gran'ma will be so proud of me! Where's a mirror? I wanna see!"

The boy turned on his heel and sped away in that strange whitish blur that resembled a saw-blade. He was fast – Nick could barely track him with his eyes – but he obviously didn't watch where he was going because he slammed into the knees of a woman walking towards them.

"Whooa, there, Joe! Slow down!" she scolded the kid as he crashed into her, almost knocking her over. But she was laughing which surprised Nick. He expected her to be angry; she was carrying a small baby and a heavily pregnant tummy as well, but she helped the kid up.

"Lookit, Auntie Jubilee!" the boy crowed proudly, pointing at his swollen eye. "I got inna fight! That kid ovah there hit me right in the face!"

"I didn't mean to!" Nick croaked, somehow finding his voice and waving his arms around in a panic like a scared chicken. He had no idea what expulsion entailed, but it sounded horrible. Furthermore, it would bring shame on his family and Nick had promised to make his mum proud. "It was an accident! He ran into me!"

The woman didn't seem troubled, however. She grinned down at the two boys.

"Don't worry, kiddo. Joe here causes more trouble without meaning to than he ever could intentionally," she said to Nick with a wink. "He's a natural disaster."

"Hurricane Joe, that's me!" the boy, Joe apparently, proclaimed with more than a hint of pride.

The woman seemed familiar to Nick somehow, but he had no idea where he had met her. The only grownups he knew were from play-group and the only one he knew well, besides his father, of course, was Miri's mum.

This woman looked quite young - a bit younger than Miri's mum perhaps. She was raven-haired and very pretty, but her attractiveness seemed to come mainly from her own bouncy personality and not so much her looks. She was also short, barely five feet, Nick guessed (he could count to twenty now).

"Jono!" she squealed when she spotted Nick's father.

To Nick's utter shock, she threw herself at his dad, wrapping her arms around his neck or at least attempting to. She was too short for the task and, besides, there was something between them – her hugely swollen belly.

She and Jono looked down at the obstacle blocking their embrace and they laughed together.

 _Good to see ya, gel_ , he spoke to her telepathically.

Jono was beaming at her – or he was beaming the best he could since most of his face was missing.

"I missed ya, Sparky!" the woman exclaimed.

She gazed up fondly at Jono before glancing back down at Nick who squirmed under her piercing blue eyes. He wanted very much to be anywhere but here.

 _This here's me boy, Nick_ , Jono stated.

"Wow! Are you sure about that? He's very handsome," the woman teased, her eyes sparkling at Nick.

Jono bumped her affectionately with his shoulder. _Nick, this here's Jubilation Lee. Me old schoolmate_ , he explained to his son.

"Jubilee," the woman replied with a smirk, pointing two fingers to her forehead in a saucy salute. "Nobody calls me Jubilation."

 _Except M, and Storm ... and Ev_ , Jono rejoined.

A shadow of sadness seemed to pass over the young woman's face, like the expression was too old and weary to belong on her youthful appearance, but she kept smiling mischievously at Nick.

"Well, almost nobody," she said.

Nick looked up at Jubilee through his thatch of brown hair with shy liking. True, she was one of the grownups with children of her own, but their was something very kid-like about her - like she never got the memo that grownups were supposed to, well, grow-up.

The baby in her arms squirmed as he sucked noisily at a pacifier. He was dressed in white pajamas with a hood with little cat-ears.

"You know Shogo," she said to the Starsmore's. Actually, Nick didn't, but his dad pinched the baby's cheek with a sense of affectionate familiarity. The baby boy was very handsome, about a year old, with a shock of black hair tumbling down from under his hood and slightly tilted black eyes that followed every move over the monotonous sucking of his pacifier.

 _Yes, but who is THIS_? Jono asked her, eying her bulging bump.

Jubilee laughed. "I don't know that _yet_ ," she said impishly, giving her old pal a shove. "But I'm thinking maybe ... _Akira_?"

Jono's brown eyes beamed his approval. _A good name for a warrior's child_ , he stated, but, despite his light tone, there seemed to be that strange lingering sadness hovering between Nick's father and Jubilee, like something really bad had happened and the grownups weren't talking about it. Adults did that a lot, Nick knew. They had done it when his mum got so sick.

Joe came whirling back into their orbit in that strange spinning white blur of his. He really did resemble a hurricane, Nick thought, giving Joe a healthy berth. This time he made landfall straight into Jono's legs.

 _Is this one yours too_? Jono asked humorously as he righted the energetic kid. _He certainly is as hyper as you used to be when we were kids._

"Nope," Jubilee chuckled. "That one is Rogue's."

Jono's brown eyes widened in surprise. _Rogue? But aren't her kids ... grown_? he asked, his eyes growing rounder as he came to an even more unfathomable conclusion.

"Um-huh," Jubilee stated with wicked glee. "She's a _grandma_ now."

Jono could barely believe it. Jubilee shared a sisterly bond with the enormously powerful Amazonian woman known as Rogue, so it afforded her this kind of teasing familiarity. But Jono, like most people with any sense, was scared witless of the Rogue Queen.

He only shook his head in disbelief.

"And here's the kicker - Baby Joe's her _youngest_ grandkid," Jubilee added, clearly enjoying herself.

 _Whoa_ , Jono stated.

Jubilee waved her hand dismissively at her old classmate. "Eh, you know Rogue. She likes it." Jubilee plopped her free hand on her hip as she assumed Rogue's thick Southern accent: " _Y'know Ah'm jus' thrilled to have mah own lil' arh-mee of superhero gran'babies_!"

Jono sent some telepathic chuckles Jubilee's way, but a little nervously. He could count on one hand the people who could talk about Rogue that way, even behind her back and Jubilee's status as the woman's surrogate sister afforded her that luxury.

 _Certainly the most beautiful grandma I've ever known_ , Jono mused, but he kept this thought to himself. "Aloud" to Jubilee he said genially: _Seems everyone's having kids these days – everybody we know, any rate._

Jubilee giggled. "Well, yeah. Ever since _you_ made a kid, everybody's practically ape about procreation. You were always the trend-setter, Sparky."

Jono rolled his eyes at his old classmate.

Jubilee's smile grew sly. "Y'know _Paige_ has kids now too."

Jono gave her the desired reaction – eyebrows high, gawking like a stunned deer. For a man missing the lower part of his face, Jono could be quite expressive.

 _That so_? he replied. His faux-casual tone wasn't fooling anyone, least of all Jubilee. His old schoolmate knew just how to push his buttons.

"Yep, twin kiddos. Boys. Handsome buggars," Jubilee continued, smiling like a cat that ate the canary. "You know how prolific those Guthrie's are."

 _Hmm, so Paige made it with another man_? Jono thought privately. Not that he was especially surprised; Paige Guthrie was ravishing … or at least she was the last time he had seen her and that was about five years ago. Unless, of course, she had had her kids via parthenogenesis. Considering the sprawling Guthrie clan, that wasn't completely out of the question, Jono mused wryly.

 _Her husband is a lucky bloke_ , Jono replied with genuine sincerity. _Lucky bastard_ … he added to himself a bit less cheerfully.

"Oh, Paige isn't married. Actually, nobody knows who the kids' daddy is. I don't even think Paige knows for sure," Jubilee disclosed with that same measured amount of gossip-loving cattiness she always employed when they were kids. "If anyone did, you know her big brother Sam would have killed him – or forced him to marry Paige at gunpoint."

 _Not such a terrible fate_ … Jono thought dreamily. Marrying Paige, not getting shot by Sam Guthrie. Her big brother wouldn't have to force a shotgun wedding on Jono.

Nick tried to be quiet and not fidget as the adults had a capital "G" "U" Grown-Up conversation, but it was very boring and he was having a hard time standing still. He watched other kids ricocheting around the spacious room like pinballs, bouncing into the grownups like they were bumpers and getting thumped away. Nick could literally feel his brain melting listening to his father and Jubilee's talk, but he was too shy and scared to join in the kids' play.

Suddenly, Jubilee did something very strange. She made a high-pitched noise like a siren and said: " _New Mutant! New Mutant!_ " in a monotonous tone like a robot's voice. But there was an edge of dire warning in her cry. " _All Gen X'ers, take cover!_ " she called out.

The sound she was making was so much like a fire alarm or some other noise warning of catastrophe that Nick thought taking cover under the first sturdy object he could find or, better still, getting the heck out of here wasn't a bad idea.

The only trouble was Nick couldn't find a handy place to hide right this second and the door he and his dad had entered the treehouse by had completely disappeared. There wasn't even an outline of the entrance in the tree's bark.

Yes, for better or worse, he was indeed trapped here.

Nick wondered if he would die here ...

 ** _Next time: What have the New Mutants been up to?_**


	3. The Class Reunion (Part 2)

**Heya! Chapter 3 looms!**

 **I've always adored the X-Books New Mutants and Generation X and especially the characters Cannonball, Mirage, Jubilee, Chamber and Husk. Seeing the Gen X reboot has inspired me. What about you?**

 **Please review and I am open to suggestions and comments as usual.**

 **These characters belong to Marvel except for Nick, Miri and Joe. They are mine. Have fun!**

 **-Maria**

 ** _Episode 3: The Class Reunion (Part 2)_**

That's when Nick noticed no one else around him, kid or adult, seemed especially concerned by the siren-like wailing Jubilee was making. They glanced her way in mild amusement before resuming their conversations and games.

Nick suddenly spotted two familiar (and very welcome in Nick's case) figures trotting out of the crowd towards him. It was his friend from play-group Miri and her mum Danielle Moonstar.

Jono and Jubilee's class at Xavier's Institute, where they attended school as kids, had had the nickname of "Gen X." And the Gen X'ers had a not-so-friendly rivalry with the class before them, called the "New Mutants," which included Dani Moonstar.

So it made sense Jubilee was eying the approaching woman with more than a tad of contempt.

Dani was a striking woman with her long, long black hair in two plaits down her back and dark tilting eyes. Her hair was so glossy it gave off shimmering purple lights.

Miri was almost six, but already as tall as her mother's shoulder. Her hair was dark too and plaited into prim braids, but in certain lights it had an odd auburn hue and her eyes were round, luminous and green.

"Nick!" the girl called out. "I brought the Red Monkey Book!" she said excitedly, clutching a large picture book with a red stuffed monkey on the cover. "I know how much you love it!"

"Great …" Nick replied, forcing a smile.

Oh well, at least Miri was here now. He knew her and she would play with him. He wouldn't have to talk to the other strange kids and he was relieved and grateful. He'd willingly read the stupid Red Monkey Book if it meant Miri staying here with him.

Miri gave him a puzzled look. "Where is your hat?" she asked.

The girl was wearing a neat little hat with fox ears. Nick stared at it. He wanted one, but, of course, was too polite to ask his father for it. His mum had told Nick he must never whine or pout to get things.

Nick suddenly realized all the kids running around the treehouse had on hats that looked like different animals. Well, except Joe, who presently cannoned into Miri. Nick didn't think much of Joe, even from what little he'd seen of him, but the fact another kid didn't have an animal hat on made Nick feel better.

"Here is mine!" Joe crowed as he disentangled himself from Miri.

His was a turtle hat. Oooh, Nick wanted it even more than Miri's fox hat.

"Watch me be a real turtle!" Joe shouted. He pulled his arms inside his shirt sleeves and then his head inside his shirt collar and rolled around on the floor. "Now I'm invisible!" the boy's muffled voice said from inside his shirt. "You can't see me!"

"Oh, Joe, we can _too_ see you!" Miri responded, giving Joe a playful swat.

She looked at Nick, smiling and rolling her eyes as if to say, " _Kids_!" in an exasperated way.

Miri was the eldest kid in the play-group and, by the looks of it, probably the eldest kid here, Nick concluded. He liked Miri all right, but she could be a bit bossy and condescending due to her age. When she and Nick got together, Miri decided what they should do and what they should play. Nick figured they would argue a lot more if he wasn't so timid. However, he secretly admitted that it was nice to have a bigger kid around to tell him what to do.

"We're all supposed to wear animal hats here at school," Miri explained.

Nick felt very annoyed at this – and especially at his father. Nick was dressed to the nines in a three-piece suit with a tie. His father insisted his boy "make a good first impression" at school, but Jono forgot about the school _dress-code_? Or maybe he didn't even _know_ about it?

Wasn't it Jono's responsibility to know this? Nick thought furiously. Couldn't he have gotten a syllabus or something?!

Jono's incompetence as a parent, and his fussing and fluttering to make up for his blunders, were perhaps what infuriated Nick the most about his father.

Jono would forget there was no milk in the fridge for breakfast and then run to the supermarket to buy twelve quarts. He'd be fifteen minutes late to pick up Nick from play-group and then for the next week straight arrive an hour early.

The man practically stank of trying too hard. It made Nick not only feel angry and exasperated, but also embarrassed and ashamed of his dad. Why couldn't Jono just handle problems in an efficient businesslike manner like parents were supposed to?

Like Nick's mum always had?

"Don't worry, Nick," said Dani, bending over to put her hand on his shoulder.

Nick was very intimidated by Miri's mum, for she had a ferocious temper. Miri was a bit of a hothead too and often talked back to Danielle. Mother and daughter argued often and loudly and Nick, who had been raised to be accommodating and polite since birth, was frequently terrified by their fierce spats. Dani, however, had never spoken to the shy boy with anything but gentle words.

"I brought you this," Dani added, pulling an animal hat out of her bag. It had the silver spots and fuzzy ears of a _snow leopard_! How did Miri's mum know his favorite animal was a snow leopard? Nick couldn't remember mentioning it to Miri or anybody really.

But then Dani was always doing rather odd things around Nick when he thought about it - especially when the boy felt particularly anxious or sad about missing his mum. On days he was especially depressed, she'd show up at play-group with a Happy Meal for him or his favorite flavor of cake - black walnut, another penchant he couldn't recall disclosing to Dani or her daughter.

These little favors struck Nick as quite strange, especially since Dani never indulged Miri with such treats. Dani had a reputation as a very strict parent.

Nick was so shocked he could barely stammer a "thank you" to her. He put on the hat. It didn't fall down over his eyes or squeeze his head. It fit perfectly.

Dani smiled tenderly at the boy. "I was going to give it to you at play-group, but I forgot."

"Play-group?" Jubilee interrupted rather rudely.

 _Yeah, the Single Mutant Mums Play-Group_ , Jono explained to her. _Nick and Miri are a part of it_.

"And Moonstar and you?" Jubilee said, scowling. "You make quite a fetching _mum_ , Starsmore."

 _Why, thank you, Lee_ , Jono replied humorously.

"Fraternizing with the enemy much?" Jubilee muttered to Jono, but loud enough so Dani could hear her clearly.

The fact that Jubilee had spoken these provoking words when she could have easily just sent Jono a private telepathic message was a double affront on Dani's honor and, in the old days when they were kids in school, Jubilee might have been spoiling for a fight from the fierce-tempered Moonstar. As it was, Danielle glared at her.

 _Com'on, those days of old class rivalries are over_ , Jono entreated the two women, trying to smooth things out between them. He didn't think they'd fight in front of the kids, but with Dani's temper and Jubilee's mouth, he didn't want to tempt Fate.

 _Dani's all right. She's helped me out loads since I got custody of Nick_ , he explained. _Bloody 'ell, there are some days I'm ready to build monuments to single mums - specifically for Dani._

"Jono has a long way to go, but he's coming along," said Dani with a gracious smile at her fellow single parent. She and Jono had never had a personal quarrel, despite their classes' rivalry when they were school-kids. Truthfully, Dani rather liked the quiet-spoken young man who was slowly but surely coming into his own as a father. And though kindhearted, she was stern and didn't just hand out empty praise.

"Of course, Nick here is a great teacher," Dani added. She ruffled the small boy's hair, making it somehow messier. Nick usually hated when grownups did that, but for some reason he didn't mind so much when Dani did.

"But a good support network is always a great asset, especially when you're a single parent," she explained in that brisk take-charge manner Dani, a born leader, was known for. However, she narrowed her dark eyes slightly at Jubilee, smirking a bit. "You should join us, Lee."

"I'll consider it …" Jubilee growled, noting with clear disapproval the reassuring hand Dani had placed on Jono's arm.

There was a hubbub in the crowd of people gathered inside the treehouse, with several shouts and exclamations.

 _What's up?_ asked Jono, craning his neck to see over heads to the apparent fray.

Nick, hyper-vigilant as usual, took a tentative step behind Miri.

"Oh-Ho! That's most likely Cannonball's son," Jubilee said with a laugh.

What appeared to be twin balls of fire shot out of the assembled people, followed by shrieks and screams. One fire-ball rocketed into Joe, sending him careening into a crash straight into a table loaded with _hors d'oeuvres_. Pimento cheese sandwiches flew in every direction. Another fire-ball ignited the frilly curtains over one of the windows cut into the tree's bark.

"Yep, that's definitely Cannonball's kid," Dani chuckled, crossing her arms and flashing Jubilee a smile in a rare moment of solidarity between the two women.

Adults, dragging children out of harm's way, parted like an Old Testament miracle to let through an approaching man with a young boy strapped in a harness and leash. The harness was actually a backpack shaped like a monkey and its "leash" was the monkey's tail, but everyone present understood its purpose, because the boy was hovering about three feet off the ground and straining against his restraints.

He was wearing a hood (built into the backpack) with little monkey ears and goggles over his eyes and shouting the same words over and over: " _Boom! Boom!_ "

His father was being dragged along behind the kid like he was walking a Great Dane. "Lex, whoooa, son!" he called out.

" _Boom! Boom!"_ the boy yelled gleefully. Two more fire-balls sprouted out of his chest and shot into the crowd. Another set of frilly curtains caught fire. People scurried to beat out the flames.

"Sam," said Dani, nodding to the man.

"Dani," Sam replied, looping the kid's leash around a sturdy branch, before collapsing against the wall, looking exhausted.

"That kid needs more discipline," Dani clucked, shaking her head.

"Ah got the kid a leash like you said, Moonstar," Sam replied grumpily.

"That might not be the problem," Jubilee put in helpfully. "It might be, like, _great balls of fire_."

Sam wiped his forehead. "They ain't _fire_ , Lee," he panted. "Dr. Grey seems to think they are psionic balls of energy that kinda act as homing missiles."

"Oh, well, that makes me feel _so_ much better," Jubilee commented, jiggling Shogo.

"Ah well, ah lady's feelings are always mah priority," Sam replied with a grin and an accent that just oozed Southern charm.

No matter the circumstances, Sam Guthrie, known by his many friends and few enemies as Cannonball, could rarely stay in a bad mood for very long. He was just too good-natured.

"How you, Miss Jubilee?" he asked. "Dani?" He hugged both women enthusiastically as his son zoomed around in circles like a parakeet on a string.

Though Jubilee and Dani belonged in different classes at Xavier's, Sam never saw the boundaries set by these rivalries. During the old days, and even today, he was everyone's "big brother," always open and available for support and advice.

He certainly had had enough practice as a big brother, growing up the eldest child on a rural farm full of younger siblings. Sam had changed from the gangling, clean-cut young man who first attended Xavier's. His long straw-colored hair was pulled back in a ponytail and cannons were tattooed on each of his big biceps, but his genial, easygoing personality seemed unchanging.

"Uncle Sammie!" Miri yelped, dropping her dignity for a moment as she jumped to be picked up by Sam.

"Yah gettin' big, little vixen," he said to the girl as he swung her around. "Pretty too, like yah Mamma."

As Joe romped up, apparently recovered from Lex's psionic blast, Sam said: "Show me yah muscles, Joey!"

As little Joe and tall, handsome Cannonball flexed together in a show of manly bonding, Joe exclaimed: "Lookit! I got inna fight, Uncle Sammie!" as he pointed excitedly at his "shiner."

"Ah, yah gonna be a soldier, son, jus' like yah Granny! You win?" Sam asked.

Joe shrugged and smiled. "Nope, that kid ovah there beat me up!"

"I didn't!" Nick peeped, hiding behind Dani. "I mean, I didn't _mean_ to," he stated truthfully. "He ran into me!"

"Well, now," Sam drawled, clapping a hand on Nick's shoulder. "That _is_ impressive. I never seen anybody lick Joey here inna fight. An' you weren't even tryin'?"

"Uh …" Nick replied, not sure what to say to that. Apparently, he had fought and won his first fight and the first day of school hadn't even begun.

"Ain't never seen you 'round here," said Sam, smiling benignly at Nick. "Whose boy are you?"

"He's Jono's from play-group," Dani explained.

"Ah," Sam replied somewhat coldly, seeming to suddenly notice Nick's father standing nearby. Sam Guthrie's kind and tolerant nature extended to everyone – all except his little sisters' former suitors. He'd never met one he didn't despise.

Jono had always felt indignant and resentful of Sam's attitude towards him. He and Paige had not parted on particularly bad terms. Hell, they'd not really ever argued during their awkward teenage courtship.

 _Better look elsewhere, mate_ , Jono thought, wryly recalling what Jubilee had said about Sam and shotgun weddings. Jono had never done anything to compromise Paige's honor. He hadn't laid eyes on her in more than five years, in fact; and they'd certainly never done anything to make a baby.

"Hey, Sam! Lex, wait up!" a female voice called out.

A very pretty young blonde woman, ushering two small boys alongside her, appeared out of the crowd. It took Jono a few moments to recognize her and when he did his jaw would have dropped if he had one.

It was Paige Guthrie, his first love.

 **Next time: Things get** ** _awkward_** **as young lovers are reunited and the kiddos meet their new school teachers.**


	4. The Conjoined Twins

**Hello! Shout-out to DarkPhoenix2002. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Yes, I love fluff as well! Though I hope this story is emotional, dramatic and action-packed too. Again, thanks and please keep reading and commenting!**

 **The X-Men belong to Marvel.**

 **Cheers,**

 **Maria**

 _ **Episode 4: The Conjoined Twins**_

 _Paige_ … Jono murmured telepathically, astonished, as he eyed his high school sweetheart up and down. _You're_ …

Beautiful? Brilliant? Sexy as all hell? Jono mentally shuffled through all the adjectives to describe Paige Guthrie. It was true – she had changed, even in the brief five years since he had last seen her. She'd lost a lot of the teenage lankiness that seemed to run so rampant in the Guthrie clan. Motherhood had obviously put a few more curves on her body though that didn't detract from her beauty; God, it only added to it, he thought, trying not to stare, but he was scared if he blinked he would miss even a fraction of her current loveliness.

Her hair was still spun-gold with big, liquid-blue eyes gazing out soulfully under her fringe of bangs. Jono noticed she wore her hair long now, a far cry from the plaits she sported during their school days. But she still had those adorable freckles dotting her nose, the ones she so detested, but Jono thought made her look all the more beautiful.

 _You're … uh … the_ same, Jono finally stammered out lamely.

 _The same?!_ Jubilee's outraged thoughts invaded his mind. He glanced at the short woman who was scowling ferociously at him while tapping her foot. _That's what ya got for the girl of your dreams, Sparky? After five long years without laying eyes on her? The SAME?_

Jono felt like mentally kicking himself, but Jubilee seemed to be doing such a good job at that.

Paige blushed. "Oh, um, Jono, y-you're also … the _same_ ," she replied.

 _Yeah, Paigey_ , Jubilee's disgruntled thoughts drawled through his head. _He's the SAME. The same bumbling dunderhead missing the lower half of his face!_

Dani Moonstar and Sam Guthrie were watching these proceedings with mild amusement and frowning disapproval respectively while the kids were either oblivious or (in Nick's case) keenly embarrassed. For all his reputation as a sheltered kid, Nick knew enough about adults to know when they were attracted to each other.

Nick wasn't telepathic by any means, but even at four he noticed how his father's voice had accelerated when he talked about his old classmate Paige Guthrie. Seeing her now Nick thought her _pretty_ perhaps. Well, maybe.

 _Nothing like Mum_ , he mused with a small and very mysterious dart of jealousy. Why would Jono set such a store by this woman? Nick silently pondered before he wondered why he would even care what his father thought of anything that didn't directly concern him.

Paige, obviously trying to break up the awkward atmosphere that hung over her and her ex-boyfriend, cleared her throat. "These are my sons Locke and Lars," she announced, gesturing towards the two boys standing on either side of her. Nick noticed Paige had the same warm Southern accent as her older brother, but she spoke far more carefully than Sam, for she was quite self-conscious of her rusticated background.

Nick focused on her boys. They were identical twins, handsome and tall like all the Guthrie's. "They're four," Paige explained, but they were almost as tall as Miri. Unlike their cousin Lex, however, who was still zooming around in circles on his leash, the twins stood quietly soaking up their surroundings. They had the air of someone biding his time. It made Nick nervous.

A timid and polite kid, Nick still far preferred boys like Lex or Joe. They were reckless and dangerous, sure, but you knew what you were getting with them. Reserved kids - not _shy_ kids but sly and sneaky kids who seemed to most definitely be _hiding something -_ made Nick nervous.

Especially _these_.

Lars and Locke were good-looking and tall, but Nick had no other way to describe them but _pointy_. They had elegant pointed faces, spiky russet hair and oddly tilting amber eyes that reminded Nick of a fox. They wore matching gray wolf hats and matching smiles under their strange slanted eyes that watched Nick knowingly. Even their teeth looked pointy.

Nick shivered like a bird held in a predator's gaze.

 _These are my classmates_ ... he thought despairingly.

And he thought being gobbled up by a tree was horrible.

As the grownups chatted, one of the boys (Lars or Locke? Nick couldn't distinguish them) murmured in a tone only Nick seemed to hear: "We see the meat-child and it looks delicious ..."

Nick's brown eyes widened. Frantically, but without taking his eyes off the twin boys, he tugged at his father's jacket. "D-Dad, I wanna go home now!" he hissed. Nick knew he wasn't supposed to whine, but this was clearly a life-and-death situation.

 _Ummm, eh?_ Jono responded, only half-listening to his small son.

A draft suddenly blew through the room. It picked up speed into a breeze and then a gale, swirling around the treehouse, lifting up papers, toys and any object not tied down firmly into its torrent. It took shape into a cyclone that whirled its way to the center of the room as the crowd gave way, murmuring in wonderment.

Suddenly, the wind died down and the cyclone's walls dissipated to reveal a young girl of about six standing there where it had been. Nick's wide eyes grew even bigger when he saw her. Glancing his way, she grinned toothily at him.

"My name's Gale," she said. "And I'm the prettiest girl who's ever talked to you."

Looking at her, Nick could believe it.

Nick had never seen eyes like hers. They were glowing amber with black slits for pupils. Her skin was chocolate brown and her hair was bluish-black, shiny and swept back in two peaks like the shaggy ears of a wolf. Her teeth were whiter than any he'd ever seen; Nick didn't know if this was because they were in such a dark face, but they had tiny little fangs set in her smile which seemed to add to her mischievous pixie-like appearance.

Nick had no idea _people_ could look like this.

"Actually, her name is Mel. Although, technically, 'Mel' is a diminutive of her full name: Melissa Jaymi Munroe. _Actually_ ," another higher-pitched voice stated. Nick looked around. This new voice was coming from Gale/Mel's person, but her mouth wasn't moving. And Nick sensed she wasn't communicating telepathically the same way his dad did.

Gale/Mel shifted around, craning her neck in an annoyed way to glance over her shoulder. " _God_ , Becka!" she groaned. "Shut up!"

That's when Nick saw it - Gale/Mel had _two_ heads! Two heads growing out of the same neck!

... Or did Becka have two heads? He glanced from one face to the other in confusion. Becka's respective head - or the one Mel addressed as Becka - looked very different from the one called Mel.

Becka's skin was the same smooth color of chocolate, but her hair was pulled into two spiky pigtails and was startlingly white. Her eyes were a cool, crystalline blue.

Also Becka's half of the conjoined twins was considerably shorter, so it appeared her taller half - Mel - was constantly lugging her sister around where their bodies connected at the shoulder.

"And actually, you cannot technically have a codename –'Gale' – denoting your powers," Becka droned on. "Because actually that requires membership in the X-Men roster, _sister_ ."

"I actually know you're a royal ass, _sister_ ," Mel growled, baring her tiny but very sharp-looking fangs.

Nick almost fainted when he heard Mel use the forbidden "A word" in such a casual manner. His mortification changed to bewilderment when he noticed no adult moved to correct her for using such language.

"Are you referring to a standard wild donkey, the jackass, or the slang term which describes a silly and/or ignorant person?" Becka asked without batting a blue eye. "For I am technically neither a feral equine beast of burden nor an ignorant person."

"I know you're technically – _insufferable_ !" Mel bellowed at her.

The wind picked up again inside the treehouse, swirling around the conjoined twins faster and faster as Mel's temper rose. Nick watched Mel's pupils disappear as she became angrier and angrier and the very wind seemed to lift the sisters several inches off the ground. A deafening sound like thunder boomed through the treehouse, rattling the very room.

"I would rip your head off if it didn't mean I would bleed to death!" Mel shouted over the howling wind and roaring thunder.

"Well, technically, considering our separate consciousness, _we_ would bleed to death," Becka replied, facing her sister's wrath like the literal calm eye of a storm.

" _RaRrrgh_!" Mel let out a primal scream that chilled Nick to the bone.

The girl lifted herself higher into the air, spreading her arms open like a majestic cape as the wind whipped around her, ruffling Becka's pigtails. Becka seemed to be borne up solely by the whirlwind at her sister's command – for the white-haired girl indeed was being lugged around at Mel's shoulder, where the twins conjoined, like deadweight.

Mel roared out in a voice that seemed amplified by the winds she controlled: " _Listen to me ingrate and be afraid! Tremble before the monarch of the winds – the princess of air! The goddess of the skies_ –"

Becka seemed not in the least bit intimidated by her sister's outburst. In fact, she replied in a bored voice: "Technically, you're not a deity. That would denote possessing the traits of omnipotence and immortality. Neither of which you have, sister, though we do in fact possess a heightened healing factor that causes our injuries to heal at an accelerated rate compared to the majority of other humanoids. However, a wound as dire as decapitation I do not presume even we could recover from …"

" _Silence, you groveling, insolent, impudent ANT! Bow down before the deity of the storm_!" shrieked Mel.

All the other kids were trembling in fright – even Miri who Nick considered very brave. The children clustered fearfully around the grownups as Mel's cyclone sucked at their hair and clothes. Soon the adults were grabbing hold of the tree branches with one hand and a respective child with the other. Nick's feet had left the ground long ago as his father's hand tethered the boy to the ground, but he could see his father struggling to keep his own legs rooted to the ground.

The wind was just so strong. Soon all of the adults were flattened against the tree's bark, trying in vain to keep themselves and their children from being sucked into Mel's angry tornado. Nothing Nick had ever heard was louder than the wind tearing around the treehouse, except the pounding of his heart in his ears. He couldn't have even heard himself scream – even if he had been able to. He was just too frightened to make a sound.

Nick slipped suddenly out of his dad's faltering grip.

 _Son_! Jono exclaimed as the boy was drawn into the vortex.

Then impossibly big, strong arms wrapped around Nick.

"Cripes, Mel, your speeches get scarier every time I hear them!" a booming male voice announced, somehow making itself heard above the screaming wind.

The wind suddenly died down to a gentle almost undetectable breeze. The cyclone's potential victims, all the children and adults floating up against their will toward the tempest's pull, tumbled down to the ground – all except for Nick who gazed up wonderingly into the face of his rescuer.

A man smirked down at him. His face was weathered and his hair was silver, but it was hard for Nick to tell how old he truly was. A patch covered one of his eyes and the other was shining blue. His face seemed stern, but there was a mischievousness about his expression like he was holding in a laugh.

The man's one exposed eye twinkled down at him and Nick realized he was staring. Terribly frightened, he scrambled to get down and the man, still smiling serenely, released the boy. It was quite a climb down, Nick discovered. Perched in the man's arms, Nick was more than seven feet off the ground, a dizzying height.

As Nick began to fight the man's embrace with an almost animal panic, his rescuer chuckled and set him down on the ground. The boy scurried back to where his father was scrambling up off the ground, dazed and shaking his head.

Jono watched in wonder as his small son, who had only the most formal of relationships with his dad, hid himself behind his father like a little frightened animal, clutching Jono's trouser leg.

Shaking, Nick peered from behind his father at the huge man who had caught him. _Muscles_ , was the first word that came to mind when Nick looked at him. He'd only ever seen pictures on TV of people with that many muscles. This guy was covered in them – on his arms, his legs, from his head to toes. Jono was tall and Sam looked strong, but this man seemed to _bulge_ with muscular power. Add this to his seven plus feet of height and he seemed a terribly intimidating character.

"W-Who is t-that?" Nick asked through chattering teeth.

 _Nate Summers_ , Jono replied. _Your daycare teacher._

 **Next time: The kids meet their new daycare teachers and learn a little more about the man known as Cable.**


	5. Meet the Teachers

**Hi again everybody! The X-Men belong to Marvel. Thank you for reading and please, please,** ** _please_** **review! Now, on with the show!**

 **-Maria**

 _ **Episode 5: Meet the Teachers**_

Nate Summers, hands behind his back in a casual manner, turned to the conjoined twins.

"Pardon the expression, Mel, but you're kinda stealing my thunder," he said humorously. " _I'm_ the one supposed to be giving the dramatic introductions."

Mel ducked her head in embarrassment. "S-Sorry, Mister Summers," she stammered, looking like a scolded puppy.

Nate shook his head in a long-suffering way, but Nick noticed the man's uncovered eye still twinkling mischievously. Nick wondered, with a sick feeling in his stomach, what happened to Nate's other eye. Nick once watched a movie on TV, when his mum was in the hospital and the distracted nanny wasn't mindful of what her young charge was viewing on the telly, about a body-builder whose eye was put out by an orc in a righteous battle against dragons, trolls and the forces of evil. Then he watched another program (while under the care of the same nanny) about a man whose eye was put out by a bb gun.

 _It was probably a bb gun,_ Nick concluded. Nick's mum forbade him to play with any guns, even toy guns.

"I am not 'Mister Summers,'" Nate continued, raising his voice to address all the assembled adults and kids gathered in the treehouse. "You may call me Nathan or Nate or by my codename 'Cable,' but 'Mister Summers' is my father and I am not my father.

" _Thank God for that_ …" he added in a mutter Nick barely detected. "So do not call me by that stuffy prefix unless you want a whole heap of trouble, understand?"

"Yessir …" the children murmured almost reflexively as one though many of them did not understand some of the words Nate used. Nick could tell they were as in awe of Nate as he was. Their eyes followed him like a herd of deer watching a prowling wolf.

"And don't call me 'sir,' Nate added. "I am 'sir' to no one except the cashier at Cloud Burger, got it?"

Hmm … Mel used the abominable "A word" and Nate patronized such sketchy joints as the Cloud Burger. _What the heck kind of school is this?_ Nick wondered in indignation. And why the heck would Jono insist on his son going here?

Nick suspected his mum wouldn't approve of this place ...

"I am the director and physical education teacher at this daycare," Nate said in a commanding, but carefully even voice, as he paced like a panther before the crowd. He had the air of someone who was holding something back, hiding something. Nick was immediately on guard.

Nick didn't trust kids who were sneaky and sly. Sneaky and sly adults were much, much _worse_.

"Are _they_ are teachers too?" Miri cried, pointing at the conjoined twins. Nick could barely believe his friend would call out; he would never have been so bold.

Dani hissed out a furious, " _Miriam LeAnn_!" to reprove her daughter, but Nate just smiled his calm smile at the girl.

"No," he replied.

Nick could tell right away that Miri did not like Mel which didn't surprise him. Miri was an alpha kid and alpha kids did not get along well with other alpha kids, Nick knew.

"Not exactly," Nate added. "Mel – not 'Gale,' for she has not earned that title – and her sister Becka will serve as student liaisons if you will."

Joe raised his hand.

"Yes, Joseph. And you don't have to raise your hand here when you have a question," Nate said.

Nick struggled not to faint again. Kids didn't have to _raise their hands_ at this school?!

"Is that like plywood?" Joe chirped.

"Uh, nope," Nate replied, deadpan. "That means Mel and Becka will help the students find their way around here and show you what's what, but they will still be students themselves."

Joe raised his hand midway in the air, then seemed to remember Nate's command, and (Nick supposed not wanting to waste the gesture) began digging around in his ear canal. "Is this a magic treehouse? Like in the books?" the boy demanded.

Nate chuckled. "Depends on what you call magic. I can tell you this rose tree in surrounded by a force-field that will make sure no little rugrats get out and …" Nate's one ice-blue eye seemed to stare straight at Nick. "… _and nothing else gets in_ …" he stated in an undertone.

Was Nick imagining things or did he seem to be the only one who could hear Nate's more dubious statements? None of the other kids or grownups seemed to find anything amiss about what was going on here or what Nate was saying.

"Now, let me introduce all you eager little learners to our staff –" Nate swept his arm which seemed the girth of a tree-trunk out behind him like a magician doing a trick. When nothing interesting appeared, the giant man hissed at the conjoined twins: " _Mel! Com'on, fog-machine!_ "

"Actually, Mel is not a fog-machine, Nate," Becka stated in her nasally monotonous voice. "She is not artificial intelligence that employs the chemical compound known as 'dry ice;' she can literally manifest fog from the surrounding atmosphere …"

"Actually, shut your pie-hole, Becka!" Mel snapped at her sister.

Tendrils of mist swept through the room, swallowing Nick's legs up to his knees and creating an instant field of spooky silver fog roiling over the floor. Black clouds suddenly hovered overhead, dimming the bright natural light of the sun shining through the tree branches.

A shimmering spotlight (created, as far as Nick could tell, from a sudden puncture in the cloudbank above them) suddenly fell on Nate, illuminating him dramatically.

"Your music teacher – the lovely Ms. _Natalia_ !"

A shimmering hole seemed to suddenly appear in the tree bark and a very pretty woman stepped out of it. She had smooth blue skin, clear yellow eyes and heavy locks of black hair which tumbled down in dreads almost to the floor. Nick felt his heart speed up a bit in a peculiar way when her glowing gaze touched on him. Aside from his mum, he had never seen a woman more beautiful.

She also seemed a bit shy with one foot raised like a cautious doe. " _Guten Tag_ ," she said softly. "You may call me Talia … or Nocturne," she said with a gentle smile at the crowd.

 _Night Song_ , Nick thought, remembering the hauntingly beautiful music by the composer Chopin that his mum had played for him as she lay on her hospital bed, her once-bright brown eyes sunken and her face twisted in pain.

"The fine arts – Ms. _Risty_!" Nate shouted.

A pert young woman with short violet hair stepped out of another hole that seemed to just magically materialize in the wall. She wore purple lipstick, purple nail-polish and her eyes were covered by purple-tinted shades. Risty smiled and waved to the crowd.

"Social and survival skills – Ms. _Raven_ !" Nate continued.

A very quiet-looking woman, who seemed much older than her fellow teachers, did not make her entrance out of a magic portal in the wall. Raven seemed to simply take form out of the surrounding shadows. She was a tall, conservatively-dressed lady with straight, greying black hair pulled back in a sleek knot. Raven nodded curtly in the crowd's direction, not making eye contact.

"And last – because I know it will piss her off – but not least, our elocution and deportment teacher – the big and beautiful Ms. _Monet_!"

"No way!" Jono heard Paige gasp.

 _Bloody 'ell_ … he murmured in awed response.

"What the actual fu –" Jubilee muttered, almost dropping Shogo in her shock.

Jono glanced nervously at his old classmate, worried she might go into premature labor with her unborn baby. Mel's cloudbank above them suddenly disappeared and almost blindingly bright light poured down through the treetop on a young woman with an almost beastly kind of beauty.

Statuesque, with an Amazonian build, a haughty expression in her dark eyes and a seemingly perpetual sneer hovering around her lips – there was no doubt about it, their kids' new daycare teacher was none other than Jono and Jubilee's longtime rival … the indomitable Monet St. Croix!

 **Next time: Jubilee has an unwelcome reunion with her longtime rival Monet St. Croix and the kids learn more about their magical new school.**


	6. Sass and Snark

**To kataract52: I'm so glad you're enjoying this story! Monet was one of Cable's last-minute additions to his staff. There will be another last-minute hire that will cause more drama ... but I don't want to give too much away! Yes, I love Jono/Paige and there will be far more of them to come, so keep reading please.**

 **Thanks so much to everyone. Please read and please, please, please review!**

 **-Maria**

 _ **Episode 6: Sass and Snark**_

Well, it's not like Monet St. Croix – better known simply as "M" to those (both friend and foe) who knew her best – was Jono's personal rival. Hell, Jono was too easygoing to even actually _have_ a rivalry with his class's proper rivals, the New Mutants. Monet was a member of his own class at Xavier's Institute. (The _top_ of his class; "Miss Perfect" Monet St. Croix was at the forefront of all things.)

Even Jubilee, with her ever-present smart aleck attitude, couldn't have been described as Monet's rival.

The better description was Jubilee positively hated Monet's guts.

And Jono, Jubilee's ever-supportive big-brother figure, was Monet's enemy by proxy.

Jono braced himself for the exchange of sass and snark as the two women locked eyes – Jubilee's blue gaze narrowing into a glare and Monet's dark brown one taking on that passive-aggressive expression that so complimented the smirk on her lips.

Though they hadn't all gone into battle together in years, Jono sensed Paige edging her way up to stand at Jubilee's other shoulder. Just as in days of old, the two classmates wanted to be ready to pull Jubilee out of harm's way in case she goaded M into ripping her head off.

Old habits die hard.

Monet, however, was smiling with deceptive serenity as she strolled up to her old schoolmates.

"Jonothon, Paige, _Jubilation_ …" she murmured, nodding at each of them in turn, the words rolling off her tongue in her snobbish, cultured tones and her dark eyes honing in especially on Jubilee. "Nathan was telling the truth when he said this program would take anyone."

"Guess you can say the same for its teachers," Jubilee said in a cool voice, but Jono could sense her temper boiling beneath the surface. "The high and mighty Monet St. Croix wiping boogers for a living."

"And you're paying me to do it, Jubilation," Monet commented, examining her perfectly manicured nails. "So what are you up to these days? Still a perpetual sidekick to the X-Men? With your little fireworks displays? How charming."

"At least I'm _on_ the X-Men roster," Jubilee said, grinding her teeth a little. "Dang, M, with super strength, telepathy, near-invulnerability ... you haven't even got an invite to _join_ the team? No wonder you aren't the one teaching social skills."

Jono's struggled to turn his telepathic chuckle at Jubilee's jibe into a telepathic cough which would have been awkward even if he wasn't sans torso. Though laser-vision was one power not included in Monet's vast array of supernatural abilities, Jono thought the woman could cut stone with that glare she was aiming his way.

 _I was, er, um, clearing my throat_ ... he mumbled.

"You don't have a throat, Starsmore," Monet said flatly. "Otherwise, I might have ripped it out by now."

"Couldn't we please have a class reunion without everyone trying to murder each other?" Paige intervened quickly.

"Ah, Paige, I see you've inherited all the remarkable Guthrie traits of diplomacy ... and over-propagation, of course," Monet remarked, smirking and staring down her long nose at Paige's twin boys who met M's gaze innocently enough.

There was murder in their mother's eyes, however. Monet was provoking, but Paige never loathed her the way Jubilee did. However, Paige was a great deal more hotheaded than her big brother Sam and, in true Guthrie form, nothing sparked her temper into full-blown rage like a slight on her little ones.

"Yah might wanna refrain from trash-talking mah family, Ms. Monet," Sam drawled in a casual tone, but Jono could see the man's eyes blazing. Even the most easygoing of the Guthrie clan drew the line at slander on his family name.

M smiled at Sam. "Why, _ah_ Southern gentleman like you would never strike _ah_ lady," she said, aping his accent.

"Better be glad you're a lady then," Sam muttered.

"Oh, perhaps _you'd_ better have, Samuel," Monet, who was stronger than a hundred men, retorted sweetly.

She gazed down at all their children and Nick, still hiding behind Jono's leg, trembled. The tall, scary lady was terrifying enough, but worse still she seemed to be picking fights with the grownups. Nick _hated_ it when children fought; it scared him almost senseless when adults did it.

"No mummies _and_ daddies for each of your little ones?" Monet asked the group which glowered at her. "That's a shame. Of course, I know why your brats are without a father, Jubilation, but I am curious as the why the others are little bast-"

"Be careful, Monet," Dani Moonstar interrupted her calmly even as Jubilee's hands, in her extreme anger, began to glow with pyrotechnic power. "I've walked through nightmares ... including your own."

Monet turned towards Dani and seemed to draw back a bit, hesitating for the first time since she approached her old classmates. Looking a bit mollified and frankly surprised to see Danielle there, Monet bridled in an attempt to save face in front of her peers.

"Well, I've better things to do than stand around here talking to you lot all day," she snapped and stalked away.

"She certainly found the time to do it just now," Jubilee growled. She looked like she wanted to spit.

Sam shrugged, sighing. "They say stick to what you're good at and Monet St. Croix has always been great at being an asshole - if you'll pardon my speech, ladies," he said quickly with a bow to Jubilee, Paige and Danielle.

"No ladies here, Sam, but there are little ears," Jubilee replied, grinning. Then she turned to Dani and said something Jono would have never expected: "Thanks, Moonstar," she murmured in complete sincerity without a hint of sarcasm.

Jono was frankly shocked. During their school days, Jubilee would have responded with a smart remark or a hotheaded declaration of how she could "fight her own battles." Now, she seemed genuinely appreciative. Perhaps motherhood had mellowed Jubilation Lee in some ways?

And perhaps she wasn't the only one; the ferocious Dani Moonstar actually looked shy as she smiled at Jubilee.

"Well, we single mums have to stick together, right?" she said.

Paige gently slipped an arm around Jubilee's waist. "You know M's been gunning for you since ..." She swapped a meaningful glance with Jono. Despite their awkward past, he and his ex-girlfriend were putting aside grudges and slipping back into their familiar roles as supportive mutual friends to Jubilee.

 _You hooked up with Ev_ , Jono said in a soft telepathic murmur.

"Heh, M's been gunning for me since the day we met," Jubilee chuckled humorlessly. "She didn't start to really hate my guts until Ev knocked me up."

The grownups lapsed into silence again as their sad thoughts were filled with memories of their old classmate and friend, Everett Daniels Thomas - Jubilee's lover and Monet's ex-boyfriend. Nick, however, was too utterly relieved at the tall scary woman leaving to take notice of how the other adults were currently behaving.

"I feel like taking Shogo and leaving right now," Jubilee suddenly huffed angrily.

" _No_!" Paige and Jono cried in unison before looking at one another with raised eyebrows and then laughing at bit together at how in-sync they still were despite past drama and their extended time apart.

Paige smiled tenderly down at Nick standing among the other children and murmured to Jubilee in an undertone: "You know this is the best chance for our kids' survival."

 _We all agreed to this_ ... Jono added softly.

Jubilee's fists unclenched as Jono and Paige gently took her hands. "I know," she said, smiling gratefully at her old friends as she furiously blinked back tears she was trying to hide. "It's just ... ugh! The thought of _her_ -" Jubilee spat, staring daggers at M's retreating back. "Teaching my kid."

"Nate wouldn't have allowed her on his staff if he suspected anything about her," Paige rationalized. Paige had certainly made her mistakes in the past, but she had matured tremendously since they were all schoolkids together. And apparently, Jono thought, like her brother Sam she still took her role as older-sibling-figure seriously.

"And Rachel's warier than her brother even - especially when it comes to kids. I trust her and Cable implicitly. We all do," Sam pointed out. "Let's also trust their decisions."

"Besides, even M wouldn't hurt a kid," Paige added. "Sure, she's terrible and stuck-up, but she never turned on us once during our days at Xavier's. She might be a jerk, but she's a loyal jerk."

 _She's_ our _jerk_ , Jono said humorously.

"Yeah ... OK," Jubilee agreed, still frowning doubtfully. Then she grinned impishly at her friends. "Anyway, it does me good to see ol' St. Croix finally following her dream."

 _To be a nursery school teacher?_ Jono asked, puzzled. _She never seemed overly fond of kids as I remember_.

"No, silly, to be a professional asshole," Jubilee replied. "God knows she's been studying to be one for years!"

The old friends laughed together at this remark.

 **Next time: A Phoenix appears and everyone watches cartoons.**


	7. Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

**Hello! I have been quite ill lately, so that explains the delay between chapters. Apologies.**

 **Thanks to kataract52 for the insightful review. Your words keep me motivated and provide me with critical thinking as well. Thank you again!**

 **Please read, enjoy and review, review, review, my friends!**

 **-Maria**

 _ **Episode 7: Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones**_

"Hey, sorry I'm late," a tall redhead stated, walking in the front door which immediately vanished behind her. "Has the cartoon started yet?"

Rachel Grey-Summers was expertly managing a heavy diaper-bag while carrying a handsome two-almost-three-year-old boy with bits of straw-blond hair sticking out of his white polar bear hat.

Rachel was followed closely by her best friend, Kitty Pryde, and Meg Summers, Rachel's half-sister. Both women were armed to the teeth with diaper-bags and "young mom" apparel right down to their yoga pants.

They carried babies up in their arms too. Kitty held a tiny baby of eight months old (easily the youngest kid there) wearing a furry cap with the pointy ears of a lynx.

Meg's daughter was the exact age (down to the minute) of Rachel's boy David. Little Isabelle Summers-LeBeau was a very pretty child with her rosy cherubic cheeks and a shock of white hair only a shade lighter than her golden curls. Isa laughed and waved her arms around in her happy way; on her hat she wore the tall ears of a bunny.

"Cartoons? Really?" Cable scoffed at his half-sister Rachel as she approached him. "Aren't you _leader of the X-Men_ now?"

"That doesn't mean I can't still watch cartoons. Don't be such a dusty old fart," Rach replied with a laugh, planting a kiss on the cheek of her "big little brother" as she often called Nate. Rachel had him beat age-wise by three years, but he had a good foot-and-a-half on the redhead, tall as she was. She had to levitate telekinetically to give him a peck. "You're starting to sound a lot like Dad."

Well, that shut up Nate, who scowled angrily to himself as he took his little nephew David out of her arms. Such a grim expression, especially on such an imposing figure, would have sent anyone else running for the hills, but Rach just grinned. The Summers siblings were very close, but no one could push Nate's buttons and get away with it quite like Rachel could.

"And also don't scold children for being dramatic, Nathan, when you're the biggest drama-queen of them all," Kitty added, draping little Robbie's diaper-bag over one of Nate's massive shoulders before handing off the little mite to his daycare teacher.

Nate's frown turned tenderly to a smile as he gazed down into the baby's soulful amber-brown eyes set in a round, inquisitive, innocent little face. Nate wasn't the first to notice the marked difference between Robert Pavel Rasputin and his father, the X-Man known as Colossus. Robbie didn't resemble his mother much either, but then it was hard to tell sometimes with very small babies. Nate knew Rob's appearance would change as he aged. Nate himself had been a spindly little beanpole until he hit fourteen and then seemed to shoot up a yard overnight.

Nate's smile turned somewhat sad as he gazed from Robbie cradled in one massive arm to David lying quietly in the crook of his other elbow. Rachel's young son was almost three, but he seemed far more helpless than even little Robbie. Even at his age, David had yet to take his first steps.

His cousin Isa was a different story. Nate's younger half-sister Meg had to reach up high and stand on her tiptoes to hand her daughter over to Cable. (Meg had resolutely stopped growing taller when she was twelve; she had inherited zero of the Summers' height genes Rachel, Nate and their other half-sister, Ruby, flaunted.) Nate could easily manage holding three small children at once, but as he reached for Isa, the little girl let out a squeal of pure wicked glee. Nate's little niece scurried up as nimbly as a squirrel to sit on her uncle's broad shoulder.

"Isabelle, get down from there!" Meg snapped, outraged at her daughter's behavior. Prim and pretty Meg Summers wanted her girl to be a perfect little lady.

 _Good luck with that_ ... Nate thought wryly as Isa scampered lightly from one of his shoulders to the other. That kid had too much LeBeau blood in her veins to settle down and be a good, quiet child.

Isa rolled off of Nate's giant frame and landed like a cat on the floor at his feet. Then she ran, getting lost in the crowd with Meg hollering futilely after her daughter. Isa loved to run and jump and climb with the dexterity of a toddler ninja.

 _Those LeBeau kids_ , Nate thought, shaking his head. If that girl didn't wind up in the infamous Thieves Guild, which her grandfather Remy LeBeau had long been a part of, Nate would be very surprised.

Unlike her rather shy and reclusive mom, Isa was also a social butterfly. The girl flitted from group to group of kids and adults alike.

"My name's Isha and I'm free years old!" she chirped cheerfully to anyone who would listen.

She had a difficult time making her chubby hand hold up three fingers. Nate humorously found it strange how his little niece had the reflexes of a cat burglar, but couldn't do this simple thing.

Joe was rolling around again in a blinding (and blinded) blur. Though not as fast as Joe, Isa was quick, but also cautious and she dodged the boy with deft agility, sending Joe crashing into poor Nick yet again.

This time, Nick didn't fare so well. The boys rocketed into a bookshelf, spilling Green Eggs and Ham and the Berenstain Bears in every direction.

Horrific pain shot up Nick's leg like a white-hot lightning-bolt. Gasping, too scared and shocked to scream, he fought the urge to vomit as all the children and grownups raced to help him.

"He's hurting! Going into shock!" Mel shouted, her face contorted with sympathy. "We gotta help him!"

"Broken bone. Looks it," Becka confirmed, sniffing Nick's injury thoroughly. "Smells it too. Splint, stat."

The conjoined twins did something very strange then ... They separated. Each of their heads had its own body now. Nick thought in his extreme pain he was seeing things that weren't actually happening.

Becka, now with two hands of her very own, constructed a splint in mere seconds from Popsicle sticks and school-glue.

"How is our patient?" she barked at Mel.

Mel, compliant for once to her sister's brisk and bossy tone, replied: "Awful state of pain. 10 out of 10, I'd say. A mega-frowny-face on the pain ratio. He can't hold on much longer until he passes out."

"Am I going to die?" Nick asked faintly as he swam in and out of consciousness. He had no idea he could hurt this badly; the worst pain he had ever experienced before was when he broke his pinkie toe when he accidentally slammed it into a door-frame.

"Hmm, the probability of that is unlikely," Becka replied.

"But he _feels_ like he is!" Mel snapped.

"What one is feeling and what is actually happening can be quite different, sister," Becka said coolly.

As they argued, the twins suddenly, in a haze of light, rejoined into one body with two bickering heads. They didn't seem to notice because they were quarreling so loudly.

Isabelle watched the proceedings with calm attentiveness. The small girl then placed her pudgy hand on Nick's calf and, suddenly, the pain ebbed away, gradually at first until it was all gone.

Nick was so amazed and dizzy with relief, he couldn't even speak or notice as Becka and Mel's shared hands deftly set, splint and bandaged his broken leg.

"T-Thank you ..." he finally stammered out.

Isa nodded, her curls bobbing. "My name is Isha and I'm free years old," she stated gravely. She held out two fingers, but her ring finger stayed stubbornly down. She pried it up and held them out proudly to Nick.

Nick knew he was still injured because he couldn't move his foot or wiggle his toes, but he was in no pain. He smiled gratefully at Isa as the twins finished his makeshift first-aid.

"Isa, dear God!" Meg cried, pushing through the throng of people gathered around Nick. The young mother snatched up her child, casting a fearful glance at the injured boy. She was holding Isa close to her breast and shooting Nick terrified looks like _he_ was going to harm her daughter. He was both puzzled and indignant by her actions.

Nick glanced over his shoulder to see his father glaring at Meg with the same bemused expression of consternation.

 _Me boy's injured. Jus' what the 'ell do you think he'll do?_ the usually even-tempered Jono growled telepathically at the beautiful blond woman.

Meg blushed enough to hide the freckles on her face. The reclusive young psychic hated confrontations of any kind even more than Jono did, but her kid was presently in danger ... and it was Nick's fault whether he knew it or not.

 _Hold on, everyone - I can explain_ , Rachel Summers' brisk businesslike telepathic "voice" rang out through everyone's head.

 _Just whose apparatus do you think this is, Carrots?_ Nate psychically berated his half-sister, calling her by one of his many nicknames for her (this one in reference to her bright mane of tresses) she positively loathed.

 _Oh, take a chill-pill, little brother_ , she replied glibly.

Rach hovered up over the crowd and levitated down to stand face-to-face with Jono. He'd never known her very well, only coming into contact with her when the X-Men called upon him to use his mutant powers to protect himself and others. She was certainly not a friend; even calling her an acquaintance was a bit of a stretch, but Jono knew Phoenix (as Rachel was often called) by her curly hair the color of fire and her wild facial tattoos as bold as the stripes of a tiger.

She had the take-charge attitude of a leader which suited the field commander of the X-Men as well as the eldest child of Cyclops, the longtime and now retired general of the team of mutant heroes.

"Isabelle has an acute form of empathy," she explained to Jono while placing a gentle hand on Meg's shoulder. "She subconsciously seeks out those in ... pain," Rachel said delicately with a glance down at Nick who met her gentle blue gaze with his own wide-eyed stare.

His astonished and somewhat fearful thoughts at her striking appearance were extremely apparent to Phoenix, a very talented and powerful telepath. But she didn't need psychic powers to tell her that her tattoos could be a bit much to those who didn't know her - especially small kids. And she tried not to feel too self-conscious about it.

"Isa seeks to eliminate the pain of others by telepathically blocking pain sensors in a victim's brain," Rachel continued.

Isa quietly sucked her thumb as her aunt talked, watching Nick gravely. Jono nodded, but he still felt confused by Meg's reaction and indignant of her treatment of Nick.

"But there's a catch ..." Nate said, shouldering his way towards them, still holding David and little Rob in his arms. He glowered a bit at Rach. It was so like his older half-sister to steal the show from him; in fact, he was amazed she had shown this much restraint in taking charge of his daycare.

"Isa unconsciously takes on the trauma she alleviates," Meg muttered. The blond woman bit her bottom lip and scowled terribly, holding her small daughter close to her chest. "Though it might not affect her immediately, it will impact her at some point. Tonight or tomorrow ..." she explained with a sigh. "Your son's incredible pain will manifest in her as if she herself sustained his injury."

Isa removed her thumb from her mouth and held up three finger at Jono. "Free years old," she murmured, nodding.

Jono's eyes widened. He understood now and he only felt sympathy for the girl's young mother. He regretted feeling any hostility towards Meg. Of course, she would feel resentment at Nick - he was causing her daughter to suffer. Unintentionally, but still ...

Jono had only personally known his son for a few months, but he knew without question that he would do _anything_ to protect the boy from harm.

"Let's get out of here, Rach," Meg hissed to her half-sister, clutching Isa tighter until the girl whimpered, obviously wanting to stay with the other children.

"Meggie!" Rachel and Kitty cried together as Meg headed for what-had-been the front door.

"There is too much danger here!" Meg shot back over her shoulder at the two women. "Too many chances for Isa to get hurt. I have to protect my daughter ..." These last words were uttered with a slight crack in her voice. Meg hastily scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her wrist.

"Meggie, stop!" Rachel commanded her.

Meg spun around, her long white-blond hair whipping around her face. She looked as defiant as she did beautiful, a spitting image of her mother, Emma Frost.

Meg Frost-Summers could be as sweet and demure as they come, but in a temper she'd be willing to face down even the formidable Kitty Pryde.

Said Ms. Pryde was stalking down Meg as she headed for the exit - or what had been the entrance - to the treehouse.

"This could very well be Isa's best chance for survival, Meg," Kitty said patiently, but put a firm hand on Meg's shoulder. Meg shrugged her hand angrily off, but she sniffled, showing her heart wasn't in a fight - especially with Kitty of all people. "The best chance for all these kids," Kitty explained in gentler tones now.

 _You were the first person to sense the terrible danger they're all in, Meggie_ , Rachel sent a telepathic message to her little half-sister. _And you were the first to propose what measures we could take to protect these children._

"And if you think you've got it bad worrying over Isabelle, it can't be much worse than what I'm going through," Kitty said flatly, but there was a wry smile playing around the lips on her pretty face. "Remember, Isa is almost three years old and street-smart as an alley cat. My Rob is only eight months old today."

The icy resolve in Meg's blue eyes began to thaw a bit as she looked around at her friends and family.

"This is for the best," Rach pleaded. "Please trust me, Meggie."

"And me as well," Nate suggested.

Meg smiled at Phoenix. She had idolized her big half-sister since infancy and trusted her implicitly. However, she turned a far more severe gaze on her half-brother, Nate.

"Never give me a reason not to, Nate," she murmured, leveling Cable with her own ice-blue glare. She, Nate and Rachel all shared the same father, but it was moments like these that reminded Nate of just who Meg's mother was.

Nate nodded. His little half-sister was one of the few people on Earth he showed the utmost deference towards.

Cable felt a tug at his trousers. "What is it, son?" he asked Joe who was gazing up curiously at the giant man.

"I gotta few more questions," Joe proclaimed, flicking another wad of bright-orange earwax off his fingertip. The sticky nugget landed between Locke's eyes and the boy licked it off like it was nougat. "Do we havtah flush here? Do we havtah wipe?" Joe demanded.

"My, my, so many questions!" Nate laughed. "No worries, my boy. All your queries will be put to rest. Because you are a kid and what do kids love?"

"Grand theft auto!" Joe shouted happily in response.

"Uhhh ... no. Cartoons. The answer is cartoons," Nate replied, looking somewhat dumbfounded. He glanced around at Rachel and mouthed the word " _What_?" to his half-sister.

Phoenix was trying to keep a straight face during this exchange, but eventually she and Kitty burst out laughing. Nate just looked so funny. And if Rachel Summers loved anything it was a joke at her "big little brother's" expense.

"Just shut up, Nate, and start the cartoon!" she said with a lopsided grin.

 **Next time: Here comes Crazy Billy!**


	8. After-School Special (Part 1)

_**Greetings, all! Apologies for the extended gap between chapters. Life happens ...**_

 _ **However, my best shout-outs to kataract52 and DarkPhoenix2002.**_

 _ **Kataract52: Yes! I love all the Summers kiddos - Rachel, Cable, Ruby and Meg. My other story, NeXt Genesis, focuses on Ruby and Meg if you want to check it out. Haha, yes to Grandpa Cable - he is the best dystopian dad! As for Hope coming into the game, you must read on and find out!**_

 _ **DarkPhoenix2002: Rachel Grey-Summers is my favorite character in X-Men after Storm and Jean Grey. I'm glad to have found a fellow Rachel fan! Rock on!**_

 _ **Thanks to your super-helpful feedback and support. Please keep reading and please keep reviewing!**_

 _ **The X-Men belong to Marvel.**_

 _ **Episode 8: After-School Special (Part 1)**_

Nick had never been allowed to watch television until his mum got very, very sick. Then the nanny permitted the boy to watch whatever programs he liked. There were many scary programs with lots of fighting and guns and nature shows with animals tearing each other apart. Nick hated those. He liked programs that showed people making things or painting pictures; they were very soothing.

Cartoons he's seen tended to be violent, vulgar or ridiculous – full of yelling and explosions. This one, which the children were herded around a large television/VCR to watch, was no different. A character, dressed in an exaggerated cowboy hat and boots, came skittering to a halt on the screen.

"HAY-Yah, kiddies!" the cartoon character yelled, dancing from foot to foot. "Howzit goin? I am simply the-rilled to see you all here today! My name's Crazy Billy - I'm craz-eee!" he stated, shaking his jowls at the word "crazy" which made him look like a rabid bulldog.

 _This is dumb_ ... Nick thought, crossing his arms over his skinny chest.

But the other kids laughed at Crazy Billy's antics, even Miri who Nick considered quite smart. Even some of the grownups chuckled - albeit condescendingly, like grownups do when indulging children, but Nick thought they'd have enough self-respect to ignore this drivel.

Nick tried to. He looked at the curtains. He looked at the bulletin board. He looked at the cheerful posters of long-dead animals tacked to the walls. He even stared at the floor. But it was no use. The power of the cartoon had an almost hypnotic affect, drawing Nick's eyes to stare unblinkingly at the television screen. It held all the other kids in a state of full rapt attention. Joe, who literally couldn't sit still for 15 seconds, and Isabelle, who could dupe every child-safety lock devised by man, sat like stone gawking at the TV with wide eyes. Even Lex stopped zooming around on his leash and sank down to the floor like a deflated balloon.

"I said: _How yah doin' out there in TV land, kiddos_?" Crazy Billy shouted.

"Great ...!" the children replied in a collective murmur that was both enthusiastic, but also a bit ... off. Their eyes looked slick and glazed, unfocused. They looked like they would obey the voice on the television if it told them to walk into traffic.

"We're great!" Joe said for added affect.

Nick frowned, shaking his head. "You know the people on the telly can't hear what you're saying," he admonished the boy.

"Oh ..." Joe whispered, downcast. Then he cupped his hands over his mouth and gave a scream at the television loud enough to wake the dead. "I said: _We're great_!"

Nick felt deafened in his ear facing Joe.

"Welcome to your first day of X-Force Daycare!" said Crazy Billy.

"What is 'X-Force'?" Joe asked.

Nick's scowl dropped lower on his face. "I said people on TV can't hear you -"

" _What is 'X-Force_?!" Joe shrieked.

"Please save all questions until the end of the cartoon," Crazy Billy said, pulling out two pistols and firing them at the dirt, causing his to launch in the air like a rocket.

"Here at X-Force Daycare, you'll get your first taste of life beyond your sheltered homes," Billy continued.

A cartoon ant (who was the same size as Billy for some reason; _cartoons are so dumb_ , Nick reiterated even as he stared, drooling a bit, at the TV) came pushing a cart with a silver tray balanced on it up to Billy. Billy tied a napkin around his neck as he prepared to tuck in, but when the ant waiter open the silver tray's lid, a gigantic lobster lunged out at Billy and he blew it into seafood confetti with one of his pistols.

Billy stuck out his tongue to catch some of the lobster rain in his mouth like it was snowflakes. "And it's dee-licious!" he stated, smacking loudly ( _rude_ , thought Nick). "But remember, it can also get pri-tee dicey out here in the Big World, so we'll give you the proper tools -"

Another enormous lobster, lurking under a frilly curtain that covered the lower shelf of the ant's cart, leaped out at Billy. He shot it in the guts with a lightning-fast draw similar to an outlaw in an old Western picture. (Nick had watched one briefly during the same irresponsible nanny's tenure.) And lobster intestines rained down on Billy like silly-string.

"Um, isn't this a bit, uh, violent?" Nick whispered nervously to Miri who was sitting on his other side. "Shouldn't we _not_ be watching this?"

"Hm, what? Nope! It's a _cartoon_ , silly. So it's OK for kids to watch it," she explained. "Now, if it were _real_ we couldn't watch it. It would have an 'R' rating."

Nick gave her a confused look. "W-What does that mean?"

Miri seemed puzzled. "Uuh, I think it's like how grownups want their steak cooked. 'R' is for 'rare,'" she answered with confidence. "And everyone knows kids can't eat rare meat, Nick. It could make you sick. Give you worms."

Nick nodded, albeit skeptically.

"X-Force Daycare will give you the proper tools and the proper skills to protect yourself, so you don't become lobster chow!" Billy was saying.

His ant waiter unzipped his costume and - surprise! - he was actually a lobster. Crazy Billy shot him in the head. Lobster brains exploded everywhere.

Nick winced.

"Oh, don't worry, you won't be murdered by a killer lobster," Billy said. " _Probably_ ..." he added in a mutter. "You're far more likely to be killed by shapeshifting animals. That's why the first rule of X-Force Daycare is to always wear your animal hat _at all times_. That way, in case you're caught by a shapeshifter, she'll think you're her animal baby and take you back to her den to raise as her own. You'll never see your friends and family again, but, oh well, worse things could happen to you.

"Case in point," Billy continued, as a flying saucer hovered over his head. "You could be abducted by aliens." Billy was "beamed up" into the spaceship by a mystical ray of light shining down on him. "They will farm your supernatural abilities as an energy resource until you're a mere shell of your former self," Billy added as he was strapped to an examination table by two green lobster-looking aliens. "Then, when you're a mindless zombie with no more will to live, they will mercifully end your life."

Nick's stomach contracted painfully. "Dad, my stomach hurts ..." he said, yanking at Jono's coat. Yes, he was whining, but he did have a stomachache. "I wanna go home and go to bed." _And never come out ..._

 _Ummm, yeah, son ... that's nice,_ Jono replied. His eyes were fixed on the screen with the same glazed, unfocused expression the children were wearing. Nick looked around and noticed the other grownups were as sucked in and hypnotized by the cartoon as well.

"But don't _worry_ ," Billy said with a reassuring smile as he snapped through his restraints like string and decapitated both alien-lobsters before jumping deftly out of their ship to the ground below. "The forcefield surrounding this tree will keep you safe from shapeshifting animal kidnappers, alien child-farmers and just about any other threat that could ever harm you -"

Nick smiled shakily, feeling somewhat relieved.

" _Just about_ ..." Billy said with a smirk. "Spirits of the dead can break through the force field surrounding the daycare."

A silly-looking "ghost," a figure draped in a bed-sheet, was trying to sneak up on Crazy Billy. Billy grabbed the sheet and exposed the giant lobster skulking around underneath it. Billy ripped off one of its eye-stalks and stabbed the creature with it.

"These spirits will latch onto your soul and drain you of your life-force; we'll teach you ways to protect yourself from them, but until then remain vigilant!" Billy said cheerfully.

"Uuuuurgh ..." Nick whimpered, his guts giving another anxious throb.

"But it's OK because these spirits will not likely attack you during the day when you're up and about at school. And they avoid the healthy, strong and mega-powerful children. They're most likely to attack children weakened by severe stress and anxiety and with few to no powers. At night." Billy grinned menacingly straight at the audience - straight at Nick. "In your dreams. When you're asleep, _Nick_."

Had Nick imagined that last part? He had imagined that last part. He had. Honest.

"So have fun, kidlets!" Billy brayed "And enjoy your stay here at X-Force Daycare!"

With this parting farewell, the television picture sputtered out like a flame, throwing the screen into a dull gray mirror reflecting Nick's incredulous, terrified and bewildered face.

 **Next time: Bad luck runs rampant in the Starsmore family.**


	9. After-School Special (Part 2)

**_Hi again!_**

 ** _To kataract52: Don't worry - there is more Summers family fluff and stuff on the way! Also, props for the Yo Gabba Gabba reference lol. That really made my day._**

 ** _Thanks so very much for reading and reviewing. Keep it up!_**

 ** _The X-Men belong to Marvel._**

 ** _-Maria_**

 ** _Episode 9: After-School Special (Part 2)_**

The first day of school was over. Nick couldn't believe the day had gone so quickly, but then so much had happened – He'd been eaten by a tree. He'd gotten into (and won) his first fight. He'd gotten his first broken bone. He'd learned that shapeshifters and aliens and ghosts were out to kill him, but he wouldn't think about that right now. He'd think about all that tonight.

When he was in bed. In the dark. All alone.

"Pretty keen cast," Mel murmured in his ear, bumping his shoulder in a friendly way as they were pushed towards each other in the press of parents calling to and collecting their children. "Not a bad fight with Joe either – You're a bit of a scrapper, aren't yah?"

"Uhhh …" Nick replied, gazing up wonderingly at the tall girl. Her amber eyes sparkled mischievously at him, but she seemed sincere. Was she trying to be his friend? Nick had never had a friend except for Miri. One was enough, he thought, though if he'd ever imagined what other friends could be like, he'd never dream of a girl like Mel. She was tall. She was terrifying. She was … beautiful.

"I can draw on your cast," said Mel. "That will help your leg heal faster. I have some paint-pens right here!" She unzipped a neon-pink fanny pack she wore around her – which was also Becka's – waist. "What color do you want? Magenta? Perwinkle? Ooo, how about turquoise blue? That's my favorite color."

"Sister …" Becka admonished her, shaking her fluffy, white head on their shared shoulders. "I am sorry, but I _must_ interrupt –" Mel scowled at her second head. Nick peered curiously at the conjoined twins. He had so many questions about them. For example, had either of them ever had a private conversation with anyone without her sister listening in?

But he had seen them separate, hadn't he, when he broke his leg? Or did the extreme pain from his broken leg make him imagine that?

"There is no way a drawing could aid in the healing of a broken bone. If anything, tampering with the boy's cast could have adverse effects such as infection," Becka explained.

Mel responded through bared teeth, struggling to control her temper. "Look, sis, I'm trying to cheer him up."

"Helping him _feel_ better?" Becka scoffed, rolling her blue eyes. "Pft!" she added dismissively. "You have such an odd fixation on feelings, sister."

"And – And, you – Have such an awful … nightstand disposition!" Mel sputtered angrily.

"You mean 'bedside manner'?" Becka drawled, her face expressionless as she made those annoying little air-quotes with her (and Mel's) fingers. "That concept Dr. Grey seems to hold in such high regard? Shouldn't a medical doctor focus on her patient's physical wellbeing, not their emotional state?"

"You would think that!" Mel spat. "I don't think you ever feel anything at all!"

"That's just as well for me," Becka replied, waving her hand dismissively. "Emotions are so very troublesome; people and circumstances would be so less complicated and far more efficient without them."

"Shut _up_ , Becka!" Mel hissed. "And give me a private moment with Starsmore."

Becka frowned, staring, at her sister.

Mel sighed. "Please."

Becka huffed and shoved a paper bag down over her head. Nick gawked.

"Anyway …" said Mel, as if her second head wasn't now wearing a sound-proof paper bag on her head. "You should come over to my office in the treehouse."

" _Technically_ , it's Dr. Grey's office," Becka's muffled voice explained from under her paper bag.

" _Dr. Grey's_ office in the treehouse," Mel said with an attempt at patience that came off as more of a growl. "And I'll draw on your cast. Aunt Jeanie will OK it."

"Edgerton," Nick murmured.

"Huh?" said Mel, her brow puckering.

Nick glanced down at his sneakers. "M'name's Edgerton. Nick Edgerton. Not Starsmore."

"O-Oh …" said Mel, her eyes widening.

Becka's blue eyes peeked from under her paper sack at them. "The boy means, although his father now has legal custody of him, he retains his mother's surname – a lingering vestige of his former life. Ow!" the girl exclaimed as her left foot (obviously the one controlled by Mel) kicked her hard in the right leg.

Nick studied his shoelaces hard. They were bright-white and very tidy; he had washed them last night.

"Nick's coming over to _my_ house," Miri interceded, grasping his arm and glaring at Mel. Mel sized up the girl stare for stare. "We can watch _Oliver_!" she suggested to Nick.

He blinked gratefully up at his best friend. _Oliver_ was his favorite movie. It was a film about an orphan boy who lived on the streets and had many urchin friends. There was lots of singing and dancing which was pretty ridiculous, but the end of the movie was Nick's favorite part. That's when Oliver was reunited with his mum who had been alive all along!

"Well, to quote Becka, _actually_ , we _technically_ have other plans," Danielle Moonstar said, strolling up with Jono at her side.

"But Maaaw!" Miri whined. "Nick is coming over to our house to watch _Oliver_."

"Miriam LeAnn! I _said_ we have other plans," Dani snapped, her voice narrowing down to a warning hiss.

Nick tensed up, prepping for one of the Moonstars' infamous mother-daughter arguments. Nick had never even talked back to an adult; he couldn't imagine throwing himself into Miri's notorious temper-tantrums.

"I. Said. I. Wanna. Watch. Movies. With. _Nick_ !" Miri snarled, stomping her feet angrily at each word.

"And. I. Said. We. Have. Other. _Plans_!" Dani roared right back.

"You're the worst!" Miri screamed at her mother. "You're the worst mother in the whole wide world!"

"Get out to Brightwind right now!" Dani yelled at her daughter.

"Maaaaw!" Miri bawled like a mad bear cub.

"NOW!" Dani thundered like an angry goddess.

Nick was practically shaking when Miri whirled around, whipping her Maw's legs with her long auburn plaits, and marched away. Dani massaged the bridge of her nose before turning to peer down at Nick.

"You come too, Nick," she suggested gently.

Nick nodded mutely. Like he would dare argue with the ferocious Danielle Moonstar. The woman had never spoken to the boy with anything but tenderness, but he was still terrified of her.

###

Brightwind was Dani's beautiful winged horse. He had an arching neck and tail, a long, golden mane and a massive white wingspan wider than an eagle's. He was much older than Miri. Her first memories were of playing with the Pegasus' flicking tail. In fact, Dani had gotten Brightwind when she was a girl. That was always very hard for Nick to believe – that Miri's mum had ever been a little girl, not that she had a winged Pegasus.

Brightwind cast a discerning brown eye at Nick as he approached the creature. The Pegasus was very intelligent and he knew Nick had always been afraid of him. Brightwind wasn't exactly vicious, but he also didn't like those he considered strangers. He flicked back his ears in an irritable manner and turned to Nick with a snort, shaking his mane.

Nick jumped back, as quickly as his injured leg would allow, with a squeak and Dani shook her head, frowning, at the boy. She had told Nick countless times that BrightWind could sense when someone was frightened of him and would take advantage of that fear – that that kind of behavior was simply in a horse's nature. Nick couldn't for the life of him understand how this advice was in any way helpful. The boy was still terrified of horses and the Pegasus knew it.

Furthermore, BrightWind seemed on edge today. The Pegasus was parked alongside the placid suburban minivans, Lexus's and SUV's under the spreading canopy of the rose tree, swishing his tail and stretching his wings nervously. He didn't like this place any more than Nick did.

"So what is so important we can't watch movies?" Miri grumbled, rubbing Brightwind on his forehead, right in the spot she claimed he loved to be scratched. (Nick had never been brave enough to actually touch the Pegasus.)

"Well, you can and you will …" Danielle explained to her daughter and to all the children of her colleagues gathered 'round. Nick had noticed the other grownups watching Dani with a look of expectancy, as if waiting for her to take the lead and tell them what to do. Miri had mentioned her mum was a great leader, but Nick had never given that any more thought than anything else the grownups did.

"We're all going to be staying here for a while," Dani explained with a false sense of brightness adults sometimes used when they were breaking unpleasant news to children. Nick had plenty of experience with this. When his mum became very ill, adults were always hedging around the topic with promises and treats.

"Like … spending the night here?" Miri asked, aghast, swapping a thrilled expression with Nick.

Nick gawked at Dani. He'd never had a sleepover anywhere, not even at Miri's house.

"Um, yes," said Dani hesitantly. She cast a dark look at her colleague Sam Guthrie which he returned sheepishly as though he had thrust some unpleasant business upon her and he was too cowardly to do it himself.

"You'll be staying much longer than one night," Becka stated in her matter-of-fact, know-it-all tone. "Nathan's plans, if they are indeed successful, could take weeks, if not months."

 _Months_ …! Nick's stomach turned cold.

Danielle glared at Becka who just shrugged. "Sorry, Missus Moonstar, I was simply stating facts," said the white-haired girl, not sounding sorry at all.

Miri's expression changed gradually from surprise and delight at the prospect of a slumber party to confusion and even a little fear that something was indeed not quite right.

Nick's mind, meanwhile, was one big blank of bewilderment.

"Y'mean ... we can't go _home_?" Miri said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Danielle and Sam shared another glance and winced visibly at the girl's question. Dani looked nervous that her daughter might throw herself into another tantrum.

"Well ..." said Dani, kneeling down and putting a hand on Miri's shoulder. "No and yes. You see ..."

The icy fear was invading Nick's whole body now. He couldn't think clearly and his head was starting to pound. His breath came in short gasps. He would have to stay _here_?! Forever?!

 _Well, does it make much of a difference?_ a snarky, mean little voice whispered through his head. _Would you really rather go home with Daddy? That's not your real home. Nothing's left for you now that Mummy's gone ..._

Nick's vision suddenly grew dim and he felt his chest get tight. He hadn't felt this way since the last time he'd seen his mum - when she was lying so still and unresponsive in her hospital bed.

He was having a panic attack - and it was coming on hard and fast.

 _Nick, mate, what's up?_ Jono telepathically asked his son as he saw the boy staggering away from the group.

"I-I ... c-can't ..." Nick gasped.

The tree's branches overhead began shaking again as if in a breeze. Its fluttering pink blossoms seemed to whisper and murmur: _Please, little boy, please step back inside the parameter_ ...

Through the panicked fog swamping his mind, Nick heard the tree's soft but insistent voice suggesting, then pleading, then demanding the injured boy get back underneath its protective canopy.

 _You are not safe outside the confines of the forcefield, little boy_ , the shaking branches hissed. _Please step back inside the parameter. Please or you will be in immediate danger. Please step back inside ..._

But Nick kept stumbling further and further away from the tree, clutching his chest which seemed to contract more painfully by the moment.

 _Where are you even going, Nicki?_ the mean little voice in his head sneered. _Where can you even go? Back to Mummy? She's not at home anymore. You don't even have a home anymore._

 _Son, come back!_ Jono pleaded as he began to pursue his boy.

Jubilee and Paige, sensing something was not quite right, looked at one another in concern. They barely knew Nick, but the two women already felt a protectiveness for the boy. Not only were their maternal instincts driving them to help him, but he belonged to Jono, so he might as well have been their own.

Paige dashed off after Jono to help. Jubilee put her arms around Lars and Locke's shoulders as their mother loped away; Jubilee was too big to run.

Nick shouted as he hobbled along, barely able to see now. He was trying to drown out the sound of the sneering little voice in his head telling him he had no mother and no home to go to.

"Good vibrations!" he yelled as he tried to outshout the voice in his head, getting louder and louder. "I'm pickin' up good vibrations ... She's givin' me excitations! Good, good, good vibrations!"

 _Nick, stop! Please!_ Jono begged, as he broke into a trot after the boy.

 _Child, desist!_ the tree demanded. _Or you will be returned inside the protective parameter by force! Desist immediately-_

 _Don't try to go home, Nick,_ the mean little voice in his head insisted. _You can't go home._

"Nick, stop!" Paige cried.

 _Nick!_ Jono echoed.

"Be quiet, all of you!" Nick screamed.

Suddenly, a root of the tree sprang up out of the ground and knocked the boy head-over-feet, tumbling like a bowling ball straight into Brightwind. The horse, already on edge, let out an angry squeal and lashed out with both hind feet - planting each enormous hind-hoof through Jono's Lexus windows.

Nick whimpered, cowering down and covering his head as the furious winged Pegasus reared and plunged over him. At least Brightwind's angry trumpeting had drowned out the mean mocking little voice in Nick's mind.

"Brightwind, enough!" Danielle cried, then she spoke soothingly to her old friend and steed, stroking his forelock as she calmed him down.

By the time she had quieted the huge winged horse, however, Jono's car was trashed. The torso-less man ran his fingers through his messy hair as he stared, wide-eyed and befuddled, at his destroyed vehicle.

"Sorry, Jono ..." Dani murmured, still gently stroking Brightwind's head.

Jono sighed. _It ain't yer fault, Moonstar_ , he replied in a dazed voice, wishing very much, not for the first time, he and Gayle Edgerton had just adopted a puppy.

 **Next time: Cable's stepmom is the best stepmom.**


	10. After Bedtime

**_To kataract52: Yep! That's the same Gayle Edgerton. I really wanted to include her in this story in some way. Nope, Brightwind is actually Dani's horse in the Marvel comics when she becomes a Valkyrie of Asgard._**

 ** _Thanks for the review; it means the world to me! To one and all, please keep reading and reviewing!_**

 ** _The X-Men belong to Marvel._**

 ** _-Maria_**

 ** _Episode 10: After Bedtime_**

Bedtime used to be Nick's favorite time of the day. Now it was his least-favorite time of the day. Before his mum became very ill, she would allow the boy to sit up in bed for about thirty minutes to look at his favorite _DuckTales_ comics. Then she would turn on his Tiger Prince bed-lamp and he would drift off snuggled under his polar bear blanket, secure and happy with all the world.

Now, everything was wrong. So very wrong. And his idiot father didn't understand that Nick wanted – needed – this time at the end of the day to himself to decompress and process the events that had occurred in the past 24 hours. No, Jono insisted on sitting up with his son until the boy closed his eyes. Nick, of course, was too polite to tell his dad not to; furthermore, it annoyed him that Jono simply didn't understand that Nick needed his space. A parent shouldn't have to be told these things. They should just know … the same way Nick's mother had.

Nick's new room at X-Force Daycare made matters a little better. At first, when Miri's mum had explained it to the children, he had completely freaked out at the idea of going to school inside a creepy sentient tree, let alone _sleeping_ there at night. Now, however, he felt a little better about the situation. After all, all the things that had been in his old room at Jono's apartment (and before that in his mum's house) were here now in a new room inside the treehouse where Miri and Nick would sleep.

The other kids had gotten similar new rooms with their things piled inside.

Nick gazed around his new room with some satisfaction. Yes, the walls here were the rough bark of the rose tree and he could hear owls hooting outside his window as they roosted in the giant tree's branches, but all the things Nick loved best were here. There was his Pet Sounds poster that showed the Beach Boys feeding some hungry goats and his poster of Bob Ross that read: " _There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents_."

There were his _Monsters Inc._ figurines that were lined up in a cheerful row along his nightstand. His favorite books – _The Little Prince, Goodnight Moon and Lord of the Flies_ – were stacked neatly in a shelf cut into the wall along with his _DuckTales_ comics and Tiger Prince night-light.

These things made Nick feel better. He was a simple soul and these simple things made him happy. Also, there was the niggling thought in the back of his mind – the same one that seemed to talk so mean to him during his panic attack – that he didn't really even have a home now. His home was with his mum, Gayle, and she wasn't here or back at Jono's apartment. So that meant "home" to Nick was a motley collection of artifacts that reminded him of his life with Gayle Edgerton.

That very thought made Nick's brain feel like it was about to close in on itself, so even though he was a bit annoyed that he had to share a room with Miri, he was very grateful for that novel distraction.

He had been inside Miri's room at Dani's house, of course, and all of his friend's things were on her side of their new shared room including all her weird Lisa Frank posters that showed multi-colored pandas and golden retrievers leaping into rainbow waterfalls.

Miri was reading from the Red Monkey Book with her index finger following each big black bold word on the page with her face screwed up in concentration.

"T-The Red Muun-key br-br-" Miri stammered as she struggled to read the words.

"Brushed," said Dani as she brushed her daughter's long shimmering straight auburn hair.

"Maw! _I'm doing this_ ," Miri hissed at her mother through clenched teeth.

God, how Nick hated the Red Monkey Book. The only thing he hated more was how stutteringly bad Miri was at reading it. He knew it was cruel of him to think so because Miri was his friend and he really liked her, but Nick couldn't help but regard her with an air of contempt. He could read the Red Monkey Book in three heartbeats and many other more difficult books beside and he was two years younger than Miri.

"The Red Mun-key brushed his tee-teeth, put on his … p-p-panamas?"

"Pajamas," said Dani.

"Why are the words so hard?!" Miri cried out in frustration, flinging the book across the room in a temper. "Nick can read them just like that!"

Nick's brown eyes grew wide. Had he made Miri feel self-conscious about her reading aptitude? He'd never pointed it out to her or been disdainful or mean about it.

As Nick cringed for another fight between the mother and daughter, to his surprise, Jono cut in. _Miri, gel, it's OK that you don't read as well as Nick here._

"But he reads so much better than me – and he's so little!" Miri pouted.

 _Little_?! thought Nick in indignation. _I'm three-and-a-half feet tall_! Little, indeed.

Jono exuded warm thoughts towards Miri. He was very fond of the girl and he was extremely grateful to her mother for helping him so much with his new role of fatherhood.

 _Well, Nick's a precocious reader. He reads better than you, but then he reads better than most kids – even those older than him. You're a sight better at some things than other kids are_ , Jono said to her.

Miri's eyes lit up. "Like horseback riding!"

Nick shivered. That was true. Miri could ride Brightwind almost as well as her mother could. Nick was afraid to even pet the horse.

 _You aren't as keen on reading now, but you'll get there,_ Jono continued.

"But what if I don't?!" Miri wailed.

 _Well_ , said Jono thoughtfully. _There are going to be some things you just aren't as good at as other people are. You might be good at them someday or you might not, but either way it's OK. Trust me, I know._

Nick was very surprised. Not only did he consider his dad bumbling and incompetent in all things, but Jono had said the exactly right thing to stubborn strong-willed Miri to put her mind at ease. Nick nervously half-expected hot-tempered Danielle to snap at Jono, but instead the beautiful women gave Jono a grateful expression. It gave Nick a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nick neither liked nor respected his father, but he suddenly realized Dani Moonstar (whom Nick set quite a store by) respected Jono a great deal.

"Let's go to bed," Dani suggested, pulling Miri's coverlet with the lurid-colored unicorns on it back so the girl could snuggle down between the warm quilts and the cool sheets.

It was a delightfully luxurious feeling, especially after so long and eventful a day, and the girl sighed: "Aaaah!" as she wiggled her toes in bliss. Dani tucked the covers under her daughter's chin and pressed her forehead against Miri's. This was their thing - an affectionate gesture similar to two cats bumping foreheads.

It was so strange watching them. The mother and daughter seemed to argue constantly. Nick found it odd that they could reconcile so easily.

He watched them wistfully out of the corner of his eye; then there was a sharp clutching pain in his chest because he remembered abruptly how his mum would gently tap his cheek with her index finger when she was very pleased about something he had done. That was _their_ thing.

Jono reached over to tuck his small son into bed, but Nick had already burrowed down under his polar bear blanket. The boy turned to face the wall and his back was to his dad - Nick could not watch Miri and her mum for another second.

 _G'night, son_ , Jono said to him.

"Night," Nick muttered, not turning towards him. The boy's eyes hurt because he was trying hard not to blink.

 _If you need anything at all_... his father murmured.

"I don't. I'm OK." Nicked replied. _Go away_ , he added silently. _You're not her. You're not Mum. Just LEAVE._

Jono hovered over Nick's bed for a moment before the man sighed inwardly and turned away to trudge morosely out of the children's room.

Outside the open window, the rose tree blossoms rustled in a soft night breeze and a barred owl called: "WhoOoo cooks for you? WhoOoo cooks for you all?"

Nick blinked and tears slithered down his cheeks.

 **Next time: Sweet dreams are made of this ...**


	11. One Golden Acorn

**Hey-O! Enjoying the story so far? Leave me a review to tell me what you think!**

 **To kataract52 - lol boobs, gore and angst? Got it! That made me laugh!**

 **To DarkPhoenix2002 - I'm glad you're enjoying the ride! I'm trying to post chapters regularly, but I've been quite ill lately. Perhaps that will change soon.**

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! This chapter's a fairly long one, but I hope you'll love it. I enjoy the bond between Jean and Nate.**

 **The X-Men are Marvel's.**

 **-Maria**

 ** _Episode 11: One Golden Acorn_**

Nate Summers silently tidied up the daycare center's commons area from that day's open house event, inhaling the strong odors of ravioli, melted crayons and vomit. It was the aroma of any daycare or nursing home or grammar school or any place where its primary residents needed a bit of extra help with self-care. By the end of the week, he wouldn't notice the smell anymore.

Nate grinned to himself when he remembered Joe's query about bathroom etiquette. Cable would have to hang his framed sampler he had cross-stitched himself in the daycare restroom that stated sagely: " _If it's brown flush it down; if it's yellow, let it mellow_ ."

 _All in all, not a bad start_ ... Cable mused. _One broken bone. A small tornado. And some heat-seeking missiles ... there is also the matter of Starsmore's car, but that's his problem. Yeah, I did pretty well. No, I did_ really _well_ , he thought, hope rising like a bright star in his chest. _We might just have a chance – or at least half a chance – for these kids._

 _Not too shabby for a first day_ , a gentle teasing "voice" rang telepathically through his head. _But be modest, Nathan; don't get too cocky._

His smiled widened as he turned to see a woman with fiery red hair and flashing green eyes step out of a teleportation portal that opened in the wall. She was wearing a simple sleeveless knee-length black dress, black tights, black ballet flats and a mischievous expression as she strolled towards Cable.

For all intents and purposes, Jean Grey-Summers, the super-heroine known as Phoenix prior to her daughter Rachel taking on that alias, was quite old - in her early sixties. But the beautiful woman approaching Cable, the woman who had raised him, looked not a day over twenty-five.

From the time Nate was a lonely, frightened, little orphan, it was hard for him not to love her or trust his stepmother Jean completely. Theirs was a bond shared not through blood, but through affection and devotion. Jean, being a telekinetic like her daughter and only biological child Rachel, levitated her body in the air to rest her head on her stepson's shoulder as she sighed with complete contentment – it was good to see all her babies (biological or otherwise) grown up into good, productive role models. Nate's path was taking him in a slightly different direction than Rachel's, but Jean Grey knew him well enough to understand he would be a leader and protector just like his father.

"Couldn't help but notice Rach stealing the show out there today," Jean said with a smile.

Nate's rugged face turned down in a scowl. "She's such a bossy-boots," he complained. "Like I couldn't handle that sitch!"

"Most other people would have run screaming from that sitch," his stepmom commented humorously. Then she shrugged her slim freckled shoulders. "Rachel's like her dad – a bit overprotective. She has a hard time letting go and letting others take on responsibility. What she went through – what your father went through – would make it difficult for them to watch the ones they love take risks. You're a bit more skilled at that than they are …"

Jean noticed her stepson quirk an eyebrow at her. She giggled; Nate looked almost exactly like Cyclops when he made that face. Jean knew what rankled her beloved stepson the most – being compared in any way to his dad or older half-sister.

"No, actually just Dad," he grumbled, but Jean noticed his one blue eye twinkling mischievously at her.

She gasped in mock indignation. "Well, so much for being the scrupulous telepath, Nathan!" she scolded him with a playful swat.

Cable grinned. In his own way, he was as powerful a telepath as his stepmother was, but he seldom displayed this ability – preferring to stick to his inherit telekinesis. Despite them not being blood-related, Cable and Jean shared almost the exact same power-set.

"Well, you were projecting those thoughts pretty loudly," he said sheepishly. Although he was seven feet tall and three hundred pounds of pure muscle, Nate still winced a bit at his stepmom's scolding. "It's almost like you were trying to tell me something, Jean."

Jean laughed in her charming way, holding up her hands in surrender. "OK … OK …"

For all his telepathic and telekinetic prowess, Cable could only ever match his stepmom power-wise and that only came of her rigorous training of him when he was small. He could never breech her private thoughts – unless she _wanted_ him to know what she was thinking.

It was a game they had played when he was a little boy and she was trying to teach him, in a fun way, to recognize the "personal space" of a person's secret thoughts and respect that privacy. Good telepaths built and maintained psychic barriers to keep others' thoughts from constantly bombarding their brains. Only an unethical psychic would force their powers on someone's mind.

"Besides," he mused a bit more thoughtfully. "I really admire Rachel."

That admission was one he would have never made to anyone but Jean who had been his friend, confidant and mentor since his earliest memories. He wouldn't have dared breathe it to Rachel who might not have let him live it down. His confession was almost worth it when he saw the look on his stepmom's face.

"You mean _you_ didn't know that?" he asked, rolling his exposed eye.

"I _know_ ," Jean said, still looking a bit shocked. "I just didn't expect you to _say_ it."

Nate laughed and she pulled him into a telekinetic bear-hug.

"But seriously, I do. I've wanted to be like Rach since I met her really," he said, sighing. "She's so strong, so selfless, so much …"

"Like me?" Jean asked innocently.

"Now who's the modest one?" he retorted, raising silver eyebrows. "No … Rachel's way more of a pain in the ass," he added with a grin. "And way more of an uptight control-freak."

"Now _that_ sounds like someone I know," Jean chuckled. "I thought you didn't want to be like Scott?"

"I don't!" Nate said in genuine surprise. Then he muttered: "I've never wanted to be like my father."

"Welp, too bad! Because you're very like him in some ways," Jean replied good-naturedly.

As Nathan opened his mouth to complain – and he projected some very disgruntled feelings her way loud and clear – Jean put a gentle hand on his massive bear-like arm to stop him. "Look, you _are_!" she chuckled. "I'm not teasing you. Just hear me out," she said quickly before he could retort.

Nate grumpily crossed his arms, giving her a stone-cold glare from his blue eye and an impatient "I'm waiting" expression.

"Oh, sometimes it's in little things you do," she explained. "Like the way you slant your eyebrows when you hear someone bullshitting you or the way you pour salt on food that's already so salty no regular person could possibly eat it."

"I do that so no one else _will_ eat it …" he muttered darkly.

Jean rolled her emerald eyes.

"OK, but that's definitely nature and _not_ nurture," Cable rejoined. "Cyclops never did a damn thing for me …"

"Did you ever think maybe that's because you've never let him?" Jean asked softly.

"You'd always take his part, wouldn't you?" Nate said, his temper snapping. "You'd always make excuses for him being an asshole!" He saw the hurt look in her green eyes and immediately backtracked. He genuinely loved and cherished this woman who had raised him and Nate would never, _never_ intentionally wound her. "I-I'm sorry, Jean … for being a rude jackass to you. But I won't apologize for anything Scott ever did – _or didn't do_ ," he added crossly.

"I don't expect you to. Nobody does," she said gently.

Jean was a patient woman, but she knew about fiery tempers. She had one herself as did her daughter Rachel. Nate usually didn't show it, but she knew the giant man who was her stepson had one himself. Jean usually got the blame for Rachel's inherited hotheadedness, but she was starting to think that trait actually came down through the Summers line. Meg had a temper (though, like Nate, she disguised it well). Her sister Ruby too and their mother was Emma Frost, the chilliest person Jean knew.

"I know, I know, Scott had no idea I was alive when I was a little kid," Cable growled, his mouth twisting down. "Nobody did but some Athabascan people and you … though I don't think you counted, considering you were technically dead at the time. No offense."

"None taken," Jean said as she smiled in a sentimental way.

After the plane crash that killed Nate's biological mom, Maddy, the small boy of three had wandered around in the Alaskan wilderness until he was found by a kindly Athabascan family who cared for him and made sure he was fed and warmly clothed against the biting tiaga winter. But their village was frightened and superstitious of the little boy with the silvery hair and one glowing yellow eye and one of shining blue. They put him far away on the edge of the woods in a lonesome cabin. The medicine man and Dinuk, the mother of the family who found Nate, were the only people in constant contact with the boy.

But Nate's telepathic powers, which were budding already when he was a young child, allowed him to make contact with Jean Grey, his father's first wife. Jean had "died," so to speak, when Rachel was a baby, but she still existed in the Astral Plane – an alternate dimension that could be accessed only by psychic minds like that of little Nate. So, with one foot in the "real world" and one on the Astral Plane, Nathan Summers was raised by Jean Grey who taught him how to control his extremely powerful mind, use his abilities in an ethical manner and, of course, nurture him and care for him in all the ways a good mother would her son.

"Those were good times," Jean murmured, shaking her head. "Scary as hell because I had no clue what I was doing."

"You mean accessing this reality from the Astral Plane using me as your conduit?" Nate asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, raising a child!" she laughed in response. "I'd never done it before; I was scared shitless!"

Stepmother and son chuckled together for a moment as they strolled out on a balcony perched near the crown of the tree. They leaned against the railings, enjoying the cool evening air and the easy companionable silence that settled between them for a few moments as fireflies flashed their signal lights at one another. The owls in the rose tree were starting to hoot at the full moon.

"I didn't do _so_ bad a job, you know," Jean said as she affectionately patted his arm.

"Maybe not," Cable replied, smirking. "But the fact Scott didn't know about me doesn't excuse how he abandoned Rachel when she was young," he pointed out. "She's the only person I know who's had it harder than me – losing her mom to death and her dad to apathy in one fell swoop."

"Well, no, it doesn't excuse Cyclops," Jean conceded. "Even though Scott was very unwell at that time. He wasn't even that much in touch with reality, in fact. I think it wasn't so much apathy as insanity that drove him from his own daughter. Much as I love him, even I'll admit it. Rachel was far better off being raised by Storm and the X-Men. Ororo knew about as much as I did about raising a baby as I did with you, but she _cared_. Storm had compassion and common sense – and one hell of a gut instinct. She was a good mother to my baby girl."

Nate nodded thoughtfully, listening to Jean's words. Jean and Rachel were incredibly close, but Nate as well as everyone else (Jean included) knew that Rach would always view Ororo Munroe, Storm, the beautiful and vivacious leader of the X-Men, as her mom. Storm had diapered Rachel when she was a tot, cleaned up her scrapes, dried her tears, wiped her boogers, braided her plaits and provided for and protected the girl with the devoted ferocity of a mama lioness. And Rachel – very much like Nathan himself with his own surrogate mother – was in her teens before she knew better than to question that the tall willowy woman with ebony skin and flowing white tresses was indeed not her bio mom.

Regal – that was the first word that popped into Nate's head when he thought about Ororo Munroe. The woman was a metaphorical and literal goddess, able to command the winds and weather with a flick of her wrist or the blink of an eye. It was very difficult to imagine her as an actual person with actual feelings and failures, but she had been.

"Thinking about 'Ro?" Jean asked with a sly smile on her lips.

"Ethical telepathy, Dr. Grey!" Cable gasped in mock outrage.

Jean chuckled: "I don't need to read your thoughts to know when you're mooning over Storm."

"She was my first crush," Nate said with a shrug, but there was a secretive smile on his face.

"Try not to worry too much about it," Jean laughed, ruffling his hair. "Everyone's had a crush on Storm at some point or another."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone …" Jean gave a self-assured nod.

"Even …?"

She grinned. "Oh, yes."

"Ah."

"Y'know … if that lady hadn't been so wrapped up with Logan, you might have had a shot with her," Jean murmured.

" _Jean_ …"

"I'm serious, son. 'Ro was a classy lady. She never took second-best."

"Hmm …" Nate hummed, his thoughts on the Summers clan's old enemy, Wolverine, Ororo's cantankerous husband. Welp, another reason to hate Logan … Cable mused.

"Try not to look so miserable, Nate. And try not to wonder too much about what might have been. Don't you know we have alternate timelines for that?" she giggled. "Besides, all of us have our plates full with what's going on in our lives in the here and now without worrying over alternate realities – you particularly. You've got your work cut out for you here if those twins are any indicator of how your school is going to go."

"I like Becka and Mel," Nate said, massaging the silver stubble on his chin. "Though it's hard to think they're Ororo's grandkids. Storm was usually so serene."

"You didn't know 'Ro in her youth," Jean replied, laughing. "She was a right little savage. I can't tell you how many times she almost killed your father when they fought over my attention."

Nate chuckled, but then he muttered: "Too bad she didn't succeed …"

Jean gazed pityingly at her stepson. Rachel had finally made peace with her father over his behavior towards her when she was a child. But Nate still had a ways to go towards reconciliation with Cyclops.

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Come with me … I want to show you something."

Nate turned to follow her curiously. Cable could appear as a world-weary cynic to others, but one thing he loved about Jean was her idealism. She always kept surprising him; she always reminded him there was something new he could learn.

"Focus on what has occurred in your life, son, not what could have been," Jean advised him as a teleportation portal opened up suddenly in the wall of the treehouse commons and swallowed them up.

Nate always listened carefully to what Jean had to say. He was often labeled a reckless smartass hotshot by his colleagues and superiors, but he was wise enough to know who was wiser than him and who would call him out on his bullshit.

A portal opened far below the ground where the rose tree's massive roots reached down, down into life-giving Earth. Nate always marveled at it. The rose trees of Wakanda-Askani were enormous and long-lived, some living for hundreds of years, seeing generations of birds nest in their branches and generations of people and animals shelter in their shade.

None compared to this one, however. It had been planted by Ororo Munroe herself; she had tended it with her own rainclouds and warm, sunny weather. It was a venerable behemoth of a tree.

"Everything happens for a reason, Nate," Jean said as they stepped out of the portal into the bottom-most basement of the treehouse. It served as the school office, littered with paperwork, files and heaps of other detritus – but made sunny by the crayon drawings and macaroni sculptures of little children.

Jean walked up to a niche in the bark and another smaller portal opened. Nate was surprised, but then even he didn't know all the secrets of this place. This miraculous tree was Ororo Munroe's legacy. It was fitting her very best friend, Jean Grey, would intimately understand its heart and soul.

"I know it's clichéd to say so. Maybe I am a sentimental old fool or maybe I've just hung around Kurt Wagner too long and I'm picking up on some of his sermons," Jean chuckled, motioning for her stepson to follow her inside.

Nate had to stoop and suck in his breath to squeeze inside after her.

"But I do believe it is true," Jean continued. "Even the horrible things that happen to us. Your father abandoning Rachel. Poor Maddy dying. Even Cyclops marrying that cantankerous Emma Frost woman!"

Nate laughed along with his stepmother at that as his eyes adjusted to the gloomy interior of this tiny room they were cramped inside. It seemed to be lit by a single glowing candle that cast a soft amber aura around them … Only it wasn't a candle. It was an acorn. A single golden acorn.

Nate's exposed eye widened as he watched the tiny glowing seed; it seemed to quiver and pulse with energy. It was radiating psionic waves which must power the tree's unearthly nature and which his telepathic mind was immediately aware of.

"Marvelous …" he whispered.

His scientist's heart longed to understand it, dissect its mystery. How did it work? What made a humble acorn emit as much psionic power as a nuclear reactor would atomic energy?

"Isn't it?" Jean said, smiling in a sad way. "As Ororo grew older, she lost a great deal of her natural mutant abilities – control over the weather. She couldn't fly as she used to; she even lost her vision. She almost gave up on living any longer. It took the love of her family – me, us, the X-Men – to pull her through her depression.

"Storm began pouring her remaining energy, the last of her life, into studying magic. She became a great sorceress. She had many apprentices … including Illyana Rasputin."

Cable shuddered inwardly at that name. It was a name that struck terror in the hearts of almost everyone – including him.

"Magik, the Sorceress Supreme, studied under _Ororo_ ?" he asked in awe.

Jean nodded. "But none of her pupils were as skilled as Storm, not even 'Yana," Jean continued. "Most of her students wanted only power. Ororo wanted to understand the mystery of magic which she concluded, when broken down to its barest form, was actually just the mystery of nature itself … the force which 'Ro had ruled almost her entire life … and that which ruled _her_."

Jean shook her head, her green eyes misty, as she recalled her strong and beautiful friend. "What sparked life itself? And could a magician recreate that process?"

"Did she ever succeed?" Cable asked, his heart giving a powerful throb. Storm had been a _scientist_! Like he needed another reason to adore her.

Jean nodded at the small trembling acorn and then gestured around them. "You can see it for yourself. It's right there in front of us and all around us. Storm, the true Sorceress Supreme, realized the true nature of our universe almost too late – that with death comes new life. With grief comes great joy. On and on in an endless cycle.

"That was when she produced this." Jean plucked the little acorn off the small pedestal it was perched on. The tiny seed quivered like a jumping bean at the woman's touch, like an affectionate pet recognizing its master's touch. "Pure life out of nothingness. Something no sorcerer, not even Illyana, not even Stephen Strange, had ever done before. It was Storm's final act and she took the secret of how she truly did it to the grave with her. She was afraid the knowledge to create life from nothingness would be used by others to amass power. She never even told me …" Jean said.

She was smiling, but Nate thought he glimpsed a look of resentment in her green eyes. Jean and Storm were closer than sisters; this secret was perhaps the only thing Ororo ever kept from her best friend.

"Ororo only left her teachings that nature itself had taught to her over a lifetime. And this …" Jean patted the tree's bark fondly and Nate noticed their surroundings tremble slightly in recognition.

Nate believed it. When he asked Jean, who was the treehouse's curator, if he could employ it as his daycare, she allowed it on the condition that no statues or monuments of any kind be built of Storm. It was the woman's dying wish that she would never be revered in this way. This legacy she left here was enough.

"Awful stuff happens, Nate, hon, but in its way it leads to great things," Jean explained. "Rach growing up alongside the X-Men; me raising you; Meg and Ruby being born. Don't tell me you could imagine life without those two?"

Cable smirked. He doted on his baby half-sisters and everybody knew it.

"You really think Emma Frost is as awful as all that?" he asked his stepmom as they stepped back inside the wall teleportation portal.

"Oh, no," said Jean, her green eyes wide in false innocence. "Emma is much, much _worse_."

Mother and son laughed.

The portal opened up back in the commons area. "Why did we come back here?" said Nate. "I finished cleaning up for the night, Jean."

"Oh, I know, but I got a last-minute 'call.' That's actually what I was hunting you up for. I found a great candidate for your empty teacher slot in Hand-to-Hand-Combative Skills."

"Great!" said Nate, rubbing his forehead. He implicitly trusted Jean and had put her in charge of selecting the last teacher on his faculty. "God knows I have enough to chew without worrying over a late hire. Having you on the schoolboard is a godsend, Jean."

"Well, don't thank me until you meet her. But I think she meets all the requirements and then some."

Nate liked the sound of that. He had considered asking Risty to take on the extra load of Combative Skills teacher if the schoolboard couldn't find someone suitable in time to fill the role on their own. Risty was a nice girl, but she could be a bit ... capricious. And flighty.

If Jean thought this new girl was good enough, then the candidate had a cool head and feet planted firmly on the ground. But if she was interested in working with preschoolers, she must also have a sense of humor ...

Hmmm ... a fun, sassy gal who knew how to handle herself?

"Cool down, Romeo," Jean teased him. When he scowled at her, she said: "No, I'm not reading your thoughts, but I know that look. And I know it isn't professional to date on the job."

"Well, this might come as a surprise to you, but I don't work 24 hours a day, _Mom_ \- Ooof!" Nate choked out that last bit as Jean none-too-softly telekinetically "elbowed" him in the gut, for they were now within earshot of a slim young woman with dark brown skin, a light cloud of hair and (Nate couldn't help but notice) a very flattering pair of hips.

Her back was to them as she admired the bulletin boards encircling the room. She was studying one with a striped tiger kitten hanging onto a clothesline for dear life.

"S'right, hang in there, buddy! It gets better ..." she murmured in a low voice that sounded all-too-familiar to Cable.

He realized the truth a split-second before the woman turned to face him and Jean. Her brown eyes widened in recognition as they met Nate's equally bewildered gaze. A very odd patch of lighter skin covered her left eye in a distinctive birthmark.

"Nathan," said Jean. "Meet Neena Thurman -"

"Domino, yeah, we've met," he growled, refusing to extend his hand which was just as well because Domino was now glaring at him with her honey-brown eyes. She made no move to greet him either.

"Oh, good, you know each other!" said Jean, glancing between the pair, amusement written all over her face at their expressions.

"You could say that ..." Cable replied. "She's my ex."

 **Next time: Nick explores the dream realm ...**


	12. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

**_Hallo again! Last month, my gallbladder tried to murder me, so I was very ill and had to take a break from writing. I'm back on the horse, however, (sans gallbladder) so hopefully I can update this story more frequently._**

 ** _kataract52 - I'm glad you're loving Cable! And don't worry, you'll see plenty more of him and Domino's drama to come. Haha, yes! They don't call Jean "Phoenix" for nothing!_**

 ** _Episode 12: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)_**

Nick awoke gasping and sweating. And his dreams used to be so nice too – kittens playing billiards or dolphins having tea. His dreams were even nicer now and that was the problem … Nick didn't _want_ to wake up anymore. The waking world was so complicated and scary now; his dreams, even his nightmares, were far preferable.

The moonlight was shining full and bright into the room he now shared with Miri. The shadows it made were sharp and sinister-looking, but Nick's Tiger Prince bed-lamp dispersed them into friendlier more familiar-looking forms. That jagged phantom over there, for example, that was skulking behind Miri's bedpost was actually just her crumpled-up sweater lying in a heap on the floor.

Even so, the moonlight seemed to be playing tricks on the boy. His poster of the Monkees, usually a bottomless well of comfort to Nick, now leered at him with sinister grins. Nick pulled his polar bear blanket over his head and sat huddled on his bed shivering.

" _Miri_!" he hissed, wondering if she was awake.

Miri could be quite naughty, disobeying her mum and staying awake to play and eat sweets, hidden under the bedcovers, until her mamma came roaring into the room like a ferocious bear. Miri had told Nick about it, laughing in an offhanded way, like it was a great joke. Nick had never been allowed to eat candy. And he couldn't fathom challenging an adult over anything – especially not Miri's mum. Especially not Dani Moonstar. How could Miri be so brave? Or so foolish?

But the long eventful day must have worn out his friend. Miri slept soundly, her even breathing punctuated occasionally by a contented snore. Nick frowned and pulled his polar bear blanket tighter under his chin. Disobedient or no, he wished Miri was awake. She would laugh off the silly shadows and brave the dark alongside him. Miri wasn't afraid of anything.

He sorely wished for her companionship right now. He needed to pee. And a glass of milk would be great. _Where even is the toilet_? Nick wondered to himself. Dear God, he'd have to use _someone else's_ toilet … He hadn't even _thought_ of that! He remembered Joe's troubling questions about wiping and flushing and Nick's trembling increased, but not from fear of the shadows this time.

He covered up his head completely and lay under his blanket thinking he'd just pee in the morning. When it wasn't dark. His bladder moaned in protest.

 _I could just wet the bed_ , he thought. NO! A slow, painful, mysterious death in the bowels of a sentient tree was preferable to that very specific form of shame.

"Fine, OK, you win …" he grumbled to his insistent bladder. Nick could be a bit of a coward, but his bladder, unfortunately, was not.

Nick slipped his bare feet out from under the covers. He examined his injured leg. It wasn't in any pain, of course, but it felt ... different somehow. Nick decided to experiment; he could wiggle his toes!

He grimaced, placing both feet on the cold floor. It didn't hurt. He could feel all of his toes and put weight on his injured leg! It felt just as good as new.

His unexpected joy and surprise was tempered by fear, however. He nervously eyed the inky blackness under the bed. The boy jumped gingerly to give it a wide berth. Then he scuttled under the poster of the Monkees as quickly as possible. Their eyes seemed to follow him. Davy Jones blinked, Nick swore it.

The shadows were playing other tricks too. Nick saw a golden flash materialize over Miri's tousled head on her pillow. He blinked several times. No, that _wasn't_ a trick of the moonlight. That was a serious _unicorn_ trotting around on the thin air over Miri's head.

Nick rubbed his eyes, but the golden unicorn didn't disappear. It was grainy, like it was made of golden sand. It wickered and whinnied and pranced like a real equine. The corners of Miri's mouth twitched in happiness as she dreamed.

An astounding revelation occurred to Nick - was this Miri's _dreams_?!

It made sense ... Horse sense. Nobody loved horses more than Miri. They occupied her every waking thought. Why not her sleeping ones as well?

Nick's bladder moaned, calling his attention to a far more pressing need. The boy gripped his lower tummy and did a little jig.

Crazy nocturnal mysteries could wait; he needed the toilet _NOW_!

But there was no door in here. Two windows, but no door. Nick, with his blanket huddled around him, stared at the blank unyielding wall. _How does it work_? he wondered, remembering the strange portals that moved people from place to place inside the treehouse.

"Um … I need to, er, _go_?" he asked tentatively, glancing around.

Immediately, a shimmering rainbow-colored portal opened up like a grin in the wall. Nick jumped back so suddenly he crashed into Miri's Totoro doll.

" _Where to, little man_ ?" a soft voice that seemed to come from all around him, whispered through the room.

"T-Toilet, p-please!" Nick stammered though he almost didn't have to go now.

The tree (or what Nick supposed was the tree) seemed to laugh, causing the walls to reverberate gently like a purring cat. " _Come along then_!" the voice hummed.

Nick gazed nervously into the abyss. He would have chickened out if his bladder wasn't such a brave, stubborn fool. It gave another moan. Well, better this than a pee-soaked mattress, he concluded. Pinching his nose like he was about to take a plunge into an icy bath, he stepped into the portal.

It seemed to close up around him like a rainbow-colored soap bubble. It didn't hurt him or feel like it was pulling him apart the way teleportation did in the books or on television shows. There was a gentle rustling sound in his ears and his skin tingled pleasantly like it would in a warm bath. But Nick couldn't see anything except the shimmering, swirling, iridescent walls of the portal he was trapped inside.

Just as Nick was starting to actually enjoy himself, the soap bubble seemed to pop and he was standing inside a restroom with lilac-colored stalls. " _I suggest the one on the end_ ," the Voice murmured around him. " _Little Joe is, er, still acclimating to this new environment._ "

"Oh, thank you!" Nick stated as he hurried towards the stall at the restroom's rear. His bladder was hammering away at his lower tummy like an angry fist on a door. The toilet looked very clean and sanitary and smelled profusely of lemons. A terrifying thought struck Nick. "Uh, you aren't going to … _watch_ _me_ , are you?" he asked in a panic.

" _Don't be silly_ ," the Voice replied humorously. " _That would be impossible_."

"Oh," Nick said, but he still did his business as quickly and discreetly as possible and washed his hands twice in hot water.

Now for that milk …

"Uuuh, how 'bout some milk?" he asked.

" _As you like it_ ," the Voice responded.

The shimmering portal opened up again in its unceremonious way. Nick stepped inside. After counting to three, he was inside a kitchen. It was very quiet, dark and domestic, lit only by the full moon outside. Stainless steel surfaces gleamed along with a very large refrigerator that hummed softly. Nick padded over to it. After only a slight tug, the door opened, spilling yellow light in a slash across the dark kitchen floor. Yes! Milk, cartons of it!

As Nick helped himself, a thought occurred to him … He only considered a moment if what he was about to do was wrong. After all, there were no rules here that said he couldn't explore around the treehouse.

"May I see Isabelle?" he asked. "I want to make sure she's OK."

That was a lie. Well, it wasn't the complete truth. Yes, Isa had alleviated his pain and he did feel grateful and obligated to the girl. However, Nick remembered Isabelle's mum getting very upset when his leg was broken this morning. Meg Summers had rattled off some nonsense Nick didn't really understand about Isa being hurt because the little girl wanted to heal Nick's injured leg.

But Nick _really_ wanted to see Isa for an altogether different reason.

Nick thought the Voice would argue with him, but the portal opened up obediently and he stepped inside.

The next thing he knew, he was standing before a small crib occupied by little Isabelle Summers-LeBeau and her cousin, David. Isa and David seemed to be sleeping soundly away, each occupying a pillow at each end of the crib. As Isa enthusiastically sucked her thumb, a grainy golden image, as if made of sand, danced over her head – just like the one Nick had seen hovering over Miri.

Well, not exactly. Nick squinted and studied it; the image moved and swirled like a living thing. In it Isabelle was riding on the shell of a giant crab. As the creature tried to snap at her with its huge pincers, the little girl tickled its swaying antennae.

Nick chuckled softly and turned his attention to David Summers. The sandy image hovering over the little boy's head was one of David rolling off of a sofa again and again. Kind of a dumb dream, Nick thought. Boring, in fact, compared to Isa's. But then David was what adults would call, in hushed voices, "a cripple." That was an unkind thing to say, especially about a kid, but Nick couldn't help but concur with the grownups' opinion.

Well, it seemed David's imagination matched his motor skills, Nick thought with a disdainful sniff. As David's dream-self was about to tumble off his dream-sofa, the sleeping Isa flung out her arm around her cousin's actual leg. David's dream-self hovering over his head giggled as an unseen force tethered him to the imaginary couch. The little boy smiled as he dreamed, Isa hanging on doggedly to his ankle.

But Nick wasn't thinking about the cousins now. His heart was beating wildly as thoughts he'd never dreamed of before went racing through his mind. "I … I want to see Joe!" He almost shouted in his great excitement. But he caught himself just in time and whispered in a hiss. It took him a whole five seconds to add: "Please."

This time the portal didn't open immediately. Nick was just considering commanding it again when it opened up in its rainbow-colored swirl. He dashed inside.

The portal opened into Joe's room. Joe's room was very strange. Toy cars were nailed to the ceiling. His bed was nailed to the ceiling too. So was his nightstand. Joe was curled up on the floor, his sides rising and falling as he snored.

Over Joe's head, Nick could clearly see what the boy was dreaming of - He was holding two cars and smashing them together again and again. At first, Nick thought Joe's dream was as boring as David Summers', but then he saw there were actual people in the cars Joe was playing with, all of them screaming for dear life.

"Zoom! Voom!" Joe crowed happily. His legs pumped like a puppy twitching in his sleep.

Nick gawked, then his wide eyes darted around in frantic excitement. "T-The flying kid! The one on the leash!" he demanded, shoving his foot down on the floor.

" _His name is Lex. He's Sam Guthrie's boy_ ," the Voice stated.

"Right. Him. Take me to him!" Nick ordered the Voice.

He didn't ask how the Voice knew the kids' names or where they all were within the treehouse. What did he care?! Nick didn't even really care about what the children were dreaming about. The only thing he could think about was that he could see what the other kids were dreaming of!

The portal opened. Nick jumped in. When it spit him out again, he was standing in front of Lex Guthrie - who was floating several feet over his bed as he slept. He was still wearing his leash on a harness over his pajamas. It was looped around his bedpost and swayed in the air like a balloon's string.

Over the boy's head, shapes and circles clashed in grainy golden explosions.

"Hmph, well, this is dumb ..." Nick muttered, disappointed.

" _You know, dreams aren't always literal depictions of our secret innermost thoughts_ ," the Voice intoned. " _Sometimes they are nocturnal manifestations of our subconscious fears and desires_."

A large triangle hovering over Lex's head suddenly turned into a shark and started nibbling on the boy's head.

" _And sometimes ... sometimes dreams are stupid_ ," the Voice concluded.

Nick tapped his foot in impatience. "I wanna see the Twins!" he ordered.

" _Nick, don't you think what you're doing is wrong_?" the Voice asked.

"No!" he said quickly though guilt crawled through his guts. "No! There isn't any rule about wandering around the treehouse, is there?"

" _No_..." the Voice seemed to sigh.

"Then take me to the Twins!" he snapped.

The Twins slept like animals, piled together like puppies on the floor without a bed in sight. Nick barely noticed that they were non-conjoined in their sleep. They slumbered in a tight embrace, however, with their arms and legs in a tangle.

"What are you two dreaming of?" he murmured.

They were, of course, sharing a dream. In the dream, Becka had trapped a gazelle in a net and was preparing to butcher it when Mel came running through some shrubs yelling: "Stop! Stop!"

"Oh, what now?" Becka grumbled.

"Leave it alone, sister!" Mel panted. "Let it go!"

"And why should I?" her twin asked as she sharpened her blade on a knife-grinder. The gazelle's brown eyes darted between the Twins hopefully.

"Because it's scared!" Mel shouted, practically sobbing at her sister. "And hurt!"

"Then the logical course of action would be to end its suffering, wouldn't it? In its current condition, with an injured foreleg, it could not keep up with the herd," Becka replied, splitting one of her snow-white hairs on her knife's edge. "It would die a much harder death if it were, perhaps, eaten alive by hyenas it couldn't outrun?"

"Maybe we could care for it? Nurse it back to health?" Mel pleaded.

"There you go with your absurd fallacies," Becka stated, shaking her head. "It seems as though you consider everyone's health but our own. I haven't had a decent meal in weeks."

"Oh, I consider _our_ health!" Mel growled, poking a finger into Becka's chest. "Please remember we have to share a _stomach_! And the thought of eating meat off poor defenseless creatures makes me want to barf!"

"Well, then, maybe you could consider your nocturnal wanderings," her sister countered coolly. "I am diurnal, sister dear, and I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages ..."

Their seemingly endless quarrel droned on and on. Nick felt his ears would fall off.

"Somewhere else," he said to the Voice. "Anywhere else."

A sudden idea sprang into his head. His new powers worked on the kids ... but what about the grownups? "Miri's mum!" he said. "Yeah!"

" _Nick, you need to take care_ -" the Voice warned.

"Take me to her!" he demanded and the portal opened. Nick felt fantastic. He had never felt this way before. For the first time in his life, he had _control_ over something and if felt glorious!

 _I have powers_! he thought, enthralled. _Just like the other kids do! I DO belong here_!

Yes, he'd been dubious of this place at first, but now that he knew he had special powers just like the other children did, he didn't need to feel so afraid anymore. _I'm just like one of them!_

 _And I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?_ Nick added quickly to himself. The Voice was wrong, of course. _I'm just looking at other people's dreams. They're out there for anyone to see who can see them. It's not like I'm_ making _them show me._

When the portal opened and Nick heard Danielle Moonstar's voice, he knew something was very wrong. Dani sounded like she was arguing with herself, but Nick saw her stretched out on a day-bed. She had fallen asleep with a _Reader's Digest_ spread over her face; the pages fluttered as she snored softly.

The image hovering over her head wasn't shiny and golden, however. It looked like swirling black sand. In the dream, a female figure with long black hair stood with a mewling bundle in her arms.

Dani muttered fitfully to herself in her sleep: "I-I want it ... But, oh, no! No! I cannot! I hate it! God!"

The woman in her dream turned to face Nick and he saw her face - it was Dani, her face twisted in anguished pain as her black hair, usually so neatly braided, swirled around her. "I hate it ..." dream-Dani moaned. "Oh, but why do I have to keep her?"

The bundle in her arms squirmed and the tiny creature turned to gaze at Nick too. It had the masked face and wide green eyes of a lemur. Dream-Dani made to throw the little bundle away, but then checked herself, painful indecision written all over her face.

"I can't do it ..." real-life Dani groaned in her sleep.

Her voice chilled Nick to the bone. He looked into the eyes of the dream-woman and shivered. The expression in her black eyes looked exactly ...

It looked exactly like the expression in Gayle Edgerton's eyes the last time she spoke to her small son. Nick remembered it vividly; he had a very good memory. He remembered the soft pink carnations on the nightstand by her hospital bed. Nick was surprised when he sniffed the flowers and found they had no scent whatsoever. He was fascinated by the buttons on Gayle's hospital bed. He especially liked the one that turned on the television. Nick didn't know what the hospital bed and the carnations on the nightstand meant back then. He was so ignorant and small, humming Chopin happily to himself as he pushed the bright green buttons that made his mum's bed move up and down.

The nurse walked in with spaghetti on a light-green tray. It smelled nice and there were peaches in a tin and ice cream to eat with a tiny wooden paddle. It was Gayle's dinner, but Nick knew she would share with him.

And she always gave him her dinner roll to eat on his own. He was munching away at it, looking at the funny pictures in her fashion magazine when she told him he would be going to live with his father, Jonothon Starsmore.

Nick didn't understand. But he didn't understand _anything_. He didn't understand why the hospital bed was anything but a cool toy or why a nurse in pastel scrubs brought his mum her dinner in bed. These were luxuries. Treats.

He'd never even met his dad. And he'd had no intention of. He didn't miss him certainly. Why would he want to live with Jono?

It bewildered Nick so that he could only nod and promise "Yes, yes!" when Gayle told him he would be going to a new school and he must do his best.

He must make her proud.

"And Nicki, listen, little man," Gayle said, squeezing his small hand in her frail withered one. "Your dad is a very ... gifted man."

Nick fiddled with the cord on his mum's call-button. "Y'mean he's a great singer?"

"Well, yes, he _was_ ," said Gayle. "But what I mean is he's got powers - of the, er, supernatural kind, you might say."

She tilted Nick's chin up so she could look him directly in his wide brown eyes. "An' listen, Nick. When you go to stay with your dad, he's got these ... friends. An' they have kids your age, see? An' they all got powers. They're mutants."

Gayle squeezed both his hands tight to show him how important her next words would be. "But don't you dare forget who you are. _What_ you are. _Human_. Where you came from. Understand, son?"

Nick nodded mutely.

The silence stretched between them was broken by a crowd's laughter on the TV game show in Gayle's room.

"Mum, why do you look so sad?" Nick finally asked in a soft voice, his chin tucked down.

"Do I?" Gayle asked with a smile. "Well, you do your best at school and don't complain and don't ever forget what I just told yah and I'll never be sad again, OK?"

"OK," her son murmured.

And she never was ...

Nick was distracted out of his reverie by a sudden change in Dani's room. Her dark dream had disappeared. Empty space hovered over her head now, but she still slumbered soundly. His powers had been turned off ... somehow.

Nick felt sick. Guilty. Ashamed. Dirty, even. His mum never asked much of him. She'd always been the best mum. He tried to squeeze out some tears, but they just wouldn't come to his eyes.

"I wanna go to my room," he muttered.

The portal opened without a word from the Voice and Nick trudged inside, his face pale. _Human ... human! Mum says I'm human. But I'm not_! He felt so sick he couldn't even cry.

When the portal opened up again on his room, he found Miri sitting up in her bed awake. "Hey, Nick, wanna do shadow puppets?" she asked, flicking a flashlight on-and-off.

"Nope," he replied, dragging his feet past her bed. He planted his face on his mattress.

"Com'on!" Miri urged. "Look! I can make that lady from your dream! The one in the pretty dress." The girl flexed her fingers in the torch's spotlight on the wall.

"Wait ... What?" Nick said, lifting his head to look at her. What had he ever told Miri about his dreams?

"Y'know, she's really pretty with long brown hair and brown eyes just like yours and she wears a white nightgown - Oops!" Miri looked at Nick with her huge green eyes. "Um, uh-oh, I wasn't supposed to tell you that, was I?"

"Tell me what?" he said, aghast.

"Oh, well, Maw told me not to say anything about it, but ... Well, that's my special power. I can see people's dreams. See what's inside of 'em. But only when I'm asleep. Cool, huh?" Miri shrugged, making a dog now with the shadows on the wall. Now her fingers made a galloping horse. "Maw said it might scare you and, well, I'm not supposed to just _look_ at what other people are dreaming about without them knowing I'm doing it. That, well, that would be just terrible!"

"Terrible ..." Nick whispered. "Y-Yeah." He tried hard to swallow. His throat felt like soft sand.

"Maw says that would be a ... a ... breech of ... piracy."

"Privacy," Nick murmured. "B-But I _saw_! I saw what everyone in the treehouse was dreaming about!"

Miri stared at him like a green-eyed owl. "You looked?!" she whispered in horror. "But, Nick, that's _bad_..." The outrage in her voice held a note of admiration. Nick knew she considered him a timid little boy. The fact he had done something so daring and naughty made her a bit jealous.

"Well, how could I help it?!" he said defensively. "I went down to pee and drink some milk and everyone's dreams were leaping out at me in these weird gold sand-pictures."

Miri sighed in relief. So Nick hadn't really broken any rules. "Yeah, I know it." She plucked apologetically at her coverlet. "T-That happens when I - well, when I eat too many sweets. I pro - protect - no, _project_ what I'm dreaming about and, uh, what everybody else is dreaming about. At least, that's what Maw told me, but I think she just wants to hog all the peanut butter cups for herself. Y'know how grownups are ...

"Anyway, you were asleep earlier and I kinda looked inside your dreams without meaning to and saw the pretty lady. I'm _so_ sorry Nick. I didn't mean to, honest." She looked at him pleadingly. "You forgive me, right? Please don't stay mad at me."

 _But you're so naughty_ , he wanted to tell her. _You don't care if you're disobedient_. And even Miri knew what he had done was wrong ...

But all Nick could manage to choke out was: "Of course. I'm not."

"Good." Miri looked infinitely relieved. She went back to making shadow-puppets on the wall - a wolf this time, howling at the moon.

Nick burrowed himself deep under his bed-covers and turned to face the wall. So, he had no special powers after all ... He was as his mother said. _Human_.

He shut his eyes, but no images leaped in front of his eyelids. And the tears still refused to fall down his cheeks. He fell sound asleep.

He didn't dream.

 **Next time: Cable gets his Donny Osmond on!**


	13. Exiles & Runaways

**_To kataract52 - Trust me I know all about reality getting in the way. Thanks for reading and reviewing this story! Keep it up! And to those of you who usually don't, please read and comment on this fic._**

 ** _On to Episode 13!_**

 ** _The X-Men belong to Marvel._**

 **Episode 13: Exiles & Runaways **

Nick woke up that morning with his mind made up. He jumped out of bed and rustled around in his bureau drawer. Folded there neatly was his favorite snow leopard jumper that said " _Pawsome_!" He pulled the sweatshirt on over his untidy brown hair. He then tugged on his leopard-print trousers. Nick admitted they looked a bit ridiculous, but today he would need all the courage he could muster.

Because today he would find a way back to his mum … somehow. Last night, he had come _so_ close to deserting her. He had been tempted by the prospect of juicy new super powers. He had almost forgotten who he was. _What_ he was!

"Human," he murmured. "I'm human."

It wouldn't happen again.

No. He didn't belong here, no matter what Jono or the other grownups said. It didn't even matter what Gayle had told him. Nick belonged with his mother. He'd find a way to stay with her. He'd even help take care of her the same way she'd taken care of him. Nick was small, but strong – and smart. And the nurses who cared for his mum and the other patients at the hospital would welcome another pair of hands to help. They had always told him so. He didn't eat much or take up much room; Nick could stay at the hospital with his mum. He was sure of it. In fact, he couldn't imagine why he hadn't thought of it before!

As for Jono … Nick frowned as he thought about his father. He didn't feel any attachment to Jono and he certainly wouldn't miss him. Jono _tried_ , of course, but Nick didn't think the man was cut out for parenting. Some people weren't, after all. Nick didn't mean anything personal against his father. He just thought Jono would probably be happier on his own without a son.

Nick quickly, but neatly packed his Alpha-Beats backpack with socks and lots and lots of his DuckTales underwear and DuckTales comics. He stuffed his Monsters Inc. figurines inside and tied his polar bear blanket around the lot in a neat bundle – No, a bindle, like in the storybooks. He was running away.

No, actually, he was going home. Home to his mum. He smiled when he thought of how happy she'd be! She'd scold him, of course, for disobeying her, but Nick knew, deep down, she'd want him to stay with her. And, deep down, she'd be proud of the choice he'd made.

Hmm … he'd need food. The hospital wasn't that far off, but he'd miss breakfast and he was already a bit peckish. Besides, the kitchens were where he was headed. There was a way out of this godforsaken place; there just had to be. The milk in the fridge had to come from somewhere and Nick hadn't seen a cow or a goat anywhere around.

Whoever got in and out of the treehouse did so through the kitchens; he was sure of it. Determination making him bold, Nick put on the piece de resistance of his leopard-themed-outfit – the fuzzy snow leopard hat Dani had made for him. Nick caught his reflection in the bureau mirror and he felt a ripple of guilt at the thought of running away. More than anything, he hated disappointing people and he knew Miri and her mum would take it pretty hard.

Miri was his first real friend. She seemed to genuinely care about Nick. But she was also pretty and popular. Miri would make lots of new friends here – among her _own kind_ . Nick needn't worry about her. And as for Dani … Well, she had Miri, didn't she? Why did Ms. Moonstar make such a fuss over Nick anyway? _It's not like I'm her kid_ . _I'm not even a mutant_! he thought indignantly and with a touch of condescending pride. He was a human who belonged with other humans.

"Kitchens!" Nick barked and a teleportation portal opened.

" _Good morning, Nick_ ," the Voice said in a neutral tone. Thank goodness! Nick had expected a lecture. He was relieved the tree wasn't trying to argue with his decision.

"Morning," he replied. No need to be uncivil.

At that moment, Miri stepped out of the portal and grabbed his wrist. "Hi, Nick! Nathan's looking for you downstairs … Well, down below. There aren't any stairs here. Isn't that weird? I mean, my house didn't have stairs either, but you know what I mean?" Miri chattered on like a little bird.

"Hey, I like your snow leopard look! What do you think of mine?" Miri was wearing a sparkly pink sweatshirt that said, " _I'm a magical unicorn_." She was wearing a knitted cap with perky unicorn ears and a unicorn horn. Dani had made it for her, the same way she'd made all of Miri's dumb hats.

"It's very … sparkly," Nick replied. He hadn't bargained on dealing with Miri this morning. Well, if he must, he must. _Be direct, firm_ , he told himself. He inhaled. "Miri, I think I don't want to be your friend anymore."

Miri's green eyes were huge with hurt. Nick winced. He hadn't expected her to take it that hard.

"Y-You don't love me?!" she demanded.

"Well, no. Not really," he answered honestly. "I kinda _like_ you."

"Then why don't you want to be my friend?" she wailed.

Nick eyed her in contempt. Why was she being this dramatic? There were loads of other kids she could make friends with here.

"Tell me – what did I do?!" she said, her grip on his wrist tightening.

Nick panicked. Miri was nice enough, but he didn't really trust her not to snitch if he told her the truth. Especially if she valued their friendship _that_ much. If Nick hadn't been so distracted, he might have been flattered. He'd always assumed Miri played with him because there were no better kids to play with.

"Uuh … your unicorn, um, _fetish_. It's really … upsetting!" he lied. "I don't like it. And I don't like you! Not anymore!"

Miri's lip quivered as tears formed in her eyes. OK, that was super mean, Nick admitted. But he had to get rid of her right now! And it's not like she wouldn't move on immediately and get a new (much cooler) best friend.

"Besides, I think you're only nice to me because your mum makes you," he added truthfully.

"T-That, no!" she stammered, starting to cry in earnest now. "I like you, Nick. Really, I do! Remember when I gave you the last Danish pastry? Remember that? And it was raspberry too!"

"Yes, I remember, but where I'm going I'll get loads of raspberry Danish."

"Nick, you're a … _TURD_! I hate you!" Miri spat like a cat. She turned on her heel and plunged out of sight into the swirling portal.

" _That … went well_ ," the Voice commented.

"Oh, shut up," Nick snapped. He couldn't wait to get somewhere where the walls didn't talk.

###

"Ooooh, Look! There they are!" Paige Guthrie exclaimed.

She bounced on the balls of her feet to get a better look at her twin sons, Lars and Locke, who were being paraded with the other children through the commons area of the treehouse. All the kids, from eight-month-old Robbie (who still needed the support of a finger from a helpful adult to take his staggering baby steps) to six-year-old Miri were walking in single file to their first classes at X-Force Daycare. It made Paige's eyes well up with emotional pride.

The young woman waved enthusiastically at her boys who rolled their eyes, trying to ignore her. Paige was crestfallen. She hadn't expected Lars and Locke to act like moody teenagers. They were only four! Besides, the Guthries, no matter their age, were known for their close family ties.

Standing on tiptoe (though she had deflated a bit at her sons' reaction) Paige was almost two heads taller than Jubilee who regarded the proceedings with barely-concealed boredom. She side-eyed Paige in annoyance and noisily popped her bubblegum.

"D-Did you see the way they looked at me?" Paige murmured, heartbroken.

"Uh, _yeah_ ..." Jubilee drawled. "Who can blame them? Don't be such a smother-hover-mother, Paigey."

"B-But they're only four!" Paige said. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh, you think they're bad at four? Wait until they're fourteen!" Jubilee replied with maddening superiority.

Despite being the youngest of their class at Xavier's Institute, Jubilee was the first to become a mother. While her older classmates were raising toddlers, Jubilee had children already in their teens. It gave her quite the big head - not that she needed one any bigger, Paige thought in annoyance. Just because she was the Gen X'er to have kids first, Jubilee thought she had the last word on parenting.

She made a point to lecture Paige about it as she did anyone else who would stand still long enough. Paige found this especially irritating since she herself was born smack in the middle of a large family of biological siblings and Jubilee was decidedly an only child. But, as Jubilee frequently (and smugly) pointed out, being a big sister was _so different_ from raising kids of your own.

And she should know. Jubilee was going on her fourth child. Which made her digs at what she called the Guthries' "over-propagation" very hypocritical in Paige's opinion.

Right now, Jubilee's eldest son, Lucas, was helping little Robbie Rasputin along in the line. Lucas was almost fifteen years old. He was handsome, good-natured and, upon hitting puberty, had experienced the biggest growth spurt anyone had seen since Cable was a lad. Literally overnight, the boy had grown from a weedy kid in baggy clothes to a strapping youth bursting the seams of his clothing and already six-foot-two.

He flashed his bright charming smile at his mother and waved an arm as thick as a side of mutton. Jubilee waved back, smiling indulgently. Lucas' reaction just made Paige feel worse. Lucas already had a younger sister and brother and another sibling on the way, so the big-brother role was old hat to him, but there was still no way Lucas Bishop Thomas would miss little Shogo's first day of school.

"What are you complaining about?" Paige grumbled. "Lucas is the model son."

"Yeah," Jubilee said with a grin. "He _is_ perfect. But what did you expect?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "Where is Shard, by the way?" she asked.

Jubilee's smile fell into a scowl as her blue eyes searched the crowd for her second-born child and only daughter. Yep, Shard had bailed. Thirteen years old and as loudmouthed and obnoxious as Jubilee ever was, Shard could find better things to do that attend her baby bro's first-day-of-school ceremony. It was Paige's turn to smirk smugly. It was a small, but significant comfort that Jubilee's girl was a carbon copy - personality-wise anyway - of her ornery mom.

As the children, led by Cable and flanked by their various teachers, filed out of the commons room into a teleportation portal, Lucas came striding over to Paige and Jubilee to say hello.

Paige's bad mood had left her as she hugged the extremely tall young man. Lucas - excepting his towering height - was Everett Thomas made over again with his dad's good looks, good humor and boundless good nature. There wasn't much of Jubilee in Lucas' open honest face or warm brown eyes. He wore his thick black hair in heavy dreads as opposed to Everett's clean-shaved head, but that was about the only difference between father and son. Paige felt a mixture of pain and joy at embracing the boy; it felt almost as if poor Ev had come back to life somehow.

"My Mama has such pretty friends!" Lucas exclaimed. "Hey, Paigey!"

"Hey, yourself, handsome. You know how to make an old lady feel happy. Your Mama was telling me you have a pretty friend of your own?" Paige replied with a wink.

Lucas blushed as Jubilee made a feral sound in her throat.

"H-Her name is Lizzie ..." Lucas stammered out.

"And she's a serious cougar," Jubilee growled. "She's ancient. Practically an old maid!"

" _Mama_ ," Lucas entreated his mother, looking nervous. Paige found it funny how a behemoth like Lucas could be cowed by his short sassy mama. Lucas looked at Paige with a shrug and a smile. "We met in New Genosha when I was six and she was ten."

"Talk about robbing the cradle!" Jubilee put her two cents in.

"Whoa, yeah, four years ... that's practically a century!" Paige replied to which Jubilee snorted.

As they chatted, they spotted Monet striding towards them.

"Uh-oh!" muttered Lucas.

Her face looked like thunder. Monet St. Croix was so capricious and petty her colleagues sometimes forgot how dangerous she actually was.

"That's my cue to go," Lucas said nervously.

Lucas had probably never offended Monet. Hell, he had probably never offended anyone he was such a nice, polite kid. But he still made it a point to stay out of Monet's way. Monet disliked Jubilee; Lucas was the main reason she did. Lucas was Jubilee and Ev's first child. It didn't matter that Lucas was born after Ev had officially left Monet. Monet was in love with Everett Thomas as well as she ever could be with anybody, Paige thought, and Monet held on to grudges like a life's work.

At that same moment, Jono came hurrying over, his brown eyes wide and bewildered and his shock of hair even messier than usual. He looked a wreck, thought Paige … a _beautiful_ wreck.

 _We have a child missing_! he and Monet shouted telepathically and simultaneously and so loudly that it set Jubilee and Paige's teeth on edge.

"What? Who?" Paige asked.

Jubilee was so perturbed at the twin telepathic outbursts assaulting her brain (especially this early in the morning) that she practically spat venom at her old rival. "Well, gee, St. Croix. Let me just pop this kid out and it will make up the difference!"

Monet, surprisingly, took up the bait, her nostrils flaring and her glossy black hair whipping around her face in rage. "Jubilation Lee, you heinous cow, this is no time for your idiocy!"

Paige hadn't see Monet this angry in a _long_ time. In fact, she looked downright hysterical. As Jono had pointed out, Monet had never shown any particular fondness of children. Was the high and mighty Monet St. Croix really so desperate to impress Cable?

Back and forth, Monet and Jubilee hurled insults at one another.

"Well, gee, this is just like old times …" Paige murmured to Jono, edging closer to him as their classmates' argument escalated into a full-on shouting match.

 _Just what the HELL is happening here_?! an angry telepathic voice demanded as it rang out with deadly authority through all the minds of Gen X.

All of them, even Monet, jumped in fear. There was no mistaking that curt, icy tone. Just as there was no mistaking the haughtily beautiful woman stalking towards them, her face turned down in a disapproving scowl.

Yes, she was Emma Frost, the resplendent White Queen of the X-Men and Gen X's former headmistress at the Xavier Institute. And each and every one of her students, even the indomitable M, was mortally afraid of her.

###

As Gen X watched their former headmistress approach, they each took on expressions of dumbfounded fear. Jubilee swallowed her gum. Paige's heart hammered in her chest. Jono's eyes dilated enormously and Monet seemed to actually _deflate_ a bit.

But the woman who approached them was looking between the classmates in confusion at their deer-in-the-headlights expressions. That's when Paige noticed the woman had Emma Frost's icy blue eyes, but her skin wasn't bioorganic diamond the way Emma's was – it was sparkling purple amethyst quartz. She was significantly shorter than Emma and her hair was a darker shade of blond. Freckles dotted her upturned nose.

"Um, hi," the woman said suspiciously, one golden eyebrow tilting upward. "It's me ... Meg Summers?"

Paige noticed herself and her classmates collectively exhaling in relief.

Of course, Paige had seen Meg, Emma's eldest daughter, yesterday during orientation, but the drama surrounding Nick's accident had distracted all of Gen X from just how similar Meg looked like her mother - and their infamous former headmistress.

 _Oh, uh, hullo,_ Jono spoke telepathically to the young woman. _Ms. Frost ... I-I mean Meg Frost_.

"Yeeeah," Meg replied, still glancing with uncertainty between her mom's former students. "That's Mom's maiden name. My sister and I just go by Dad's name." Her suspicious look turned to open curiosity. "You ... know my mom?"

"Honey, _everybody_ knows your mom," Jubilee said, plopping her hand on one hip.

"So I've heard ..." Meg said in an almost annoyed sigh. "Look," she added, turning to address Monet. Paige noticed Monet take a nervous step back from the much shorter girl. "Ms. Monet, don't freak out if you're short one kid. My Isa didn't come to class today. I came to tell you."

 _Oh, how is the lass_? Jono asked her.

Meg turned to glare at him. Paige had to admit, if Meg was aware of her mom's notorious reputation or not, she certainly had Emma's cold stare down. "Isa's at home. In bed. With a broken leg."

 _Ah, oh_ ... Jono murmured and then coughed awkwardly and telepathically. Then he looked around to desperately address everyone. _But, see, me boy's missing too! He's nowhere to be found!_

Meg continued to give him her mother's trademark icy glare. Paige noticed the dark weary shadows under Meg's eyes. "Oh, no, whatever shall we do ..." Meg muttered sarcastically as she stalked off. She obviously still blamed Jono's son for her daughter's current injury.

"I seriously thought that was the freakin' White Queen walking up on us!" Paige hissed at Jubilee.

"Don't be silly," Jubilee replied though she watched Meg's retreating figure warily. "Emma is off in space having space adventures. Don't you know she got as far away from Earth as possible when she became a grandma?"

Paige chuckled inwardly at this; if Emma Frost feared one thing, it was the inevitable prospect of growing old.

"Yah say you're missin' a kid?" Sam Guthrie said, staggering up.

If Jono looked disheveled and Meg looked tired, Sam looked a disaster. The poor man was sporting heavy bags under his eyes and a five o'clock shadow despite it being eight o'clock in the morning.

Paige glanced sympathetically at her big brother. Her twin boys were certainly a handful, but Lex was something else altogether. Paige loved her nephew to bits, but the boy had an excess of energy that was exceptional even in the vivacious Guthrie clan.

"Isit mah boy ...?" Sam slurred his speech as his eyelids drooped, half-awake.

"No, _unfortunately_ ," Monet said with a frown.

"Oh ..." Sam replied. He actually seemed a bit disappointed. Paige didn't judge him. She knew how high-maintenance Lex was - what with his homing missiles and all. She couldn't blame Sam for wanting a break.

"It's Nick!" Dani Moonstar said, striding up with her long legs, her plaits flowing out behind her. "Try to calm down, M," she soothed, placing her hand on the taller woman's shoulder.

Monet shrugged off Dani's touch and glared coldly at her. "I cannot detect the boy telepathically!" she cried.

 _He couldn't have broken through the forcefield surrounding the treehouse, could he_?! Jono telepathically shouted, making Paige wince again. He looked totally and completely helpless, like he was about to curl up in fetal position and rock back-and-forth.

"I don't think so, Jono," Dani said in the same calm, but compassionate tone. Paige admired Dani's cool head. M's attitude hadn't rankled her and Paige knew all too well just how infuriating Monet could be. "The forcefield is impenetrable by any mutant powers."

 _The lil' chap don' HAVE mutant powers_! Jono wailed.

"Yes, yes," Dani said, gently massaging his back. Paige's opinion of her dropped a bit. "I know."

"If he's inside the vicinity of the treehouse, why can't I telepathically track him?" Monet demanded.

"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are, M," Jubilee sneered. "Nick is just a toddler, after all."

Before Monet could pounce on Jubilee and tear her limb for limb, Dani jumped between them. "Shut up!" she snapped. "Stop fighting, for God's sake! This is too much childish behavior, the problem is it's not the kids acting out, you assholes!"

Monet and Jubilee stared at Dani. Monet's mouth was hanging open. Paige knew two things for sure: Monet St. Croix was not used to being to talked to that way and Danielle Moonstar was one of the few people on Earth M was genuinely afraid of.

Monet's mouth shut with a snap.

"Look," Dani said, massaging her temples. "Sorry. But some people cannot be tracked telepathically. It's rare, but not unheard of - especially in very small children. Let's just calmly and logically split up and find the kid, OK?"

"I'll go with Jono," Paige said a little too quickly.

Jubilee looked at her with her black eyebrows raised high in an expression that said, _Really_?

Paige frowned at Jubilee and shook her head ever so slightly.

Paige and Jono stepped into a teleportation portal. They searched Nick and Miri's room, although Jono had previously turned the place upside down.

They searched the kitchens and the bathrooms. Nick was nowhere to be found. But little Joe had definitely been there.

"Oh, geez, I remember potty training Lars and Locke. What a nightmare!" Paige said as she and Jono beheld a sight that only a seasoned parent could look upon and not run away screaming.

 _Y-Yeah_ ...? Jono said vaguely, responding somewhat to Paige's attempt at levity.

"Mama always said boys are harder than girls in that respect, but I can't imagine it's a picnic either way," Paige commented.

 _Well, I wouldn't know one way or the other_ , Jono shrugged, looking so hopeless Paige's heart twisted in pity. _I'm flying blind here. I've no idea what I'm doing, gel._

Jono had been somewhat high-strung when they dated back in high school, but he looked worse now than Paige had ever seen him. He looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Remembering Jubilee's smug expression earlier, Paige was reminded that she and Jono had ended their little tryst years ago. But that didn't mean she couldn't show compassion for the poor man.

God, if their roles were reversed, Paige couldn't imagine what she would do. Though, like Sam, she wouldn't have minded a break occasionally from the children. Kids were so damn difficult ...

"You're doing your best, Jono, same as all of us," Paige said gently. "We'll find Nick-"

 _That's not what I mean_! he snapped. _I mean I'm no good at THIS, Paigey! I'm right rotten at being a father! Nick thinks so._

"What? No!" Paige responded. "I'm sure Nick cares about you-"

 _Cares about me?! Are you jokin_? Jono said with a humorless chuckle. _The lad gives no more thought to me than an alley cat!_

"But Jono, you don't _know_ that," she countered.

Jono leveled her with narrowed eyes. _I'm telepathic, Paige._

"Er ..." Paige was the first to admit she wasn't always the brightest crayon in the box.

 _And Nick's thoughts are LOUD,_ Jono rambled on, more to himself than Paige _. Do y'know what it feels like to think you're a garbage parent and have that idea reinforced every hour by 'overhearing' your son's thoughts_?

"Oh ..." Paige plucked at the hem of her dress. This conversation with her ex-boyfriend was not going very well. She'd wanted to get Jono away from the others; she'd wanted to speak to him on their own, but how could she bring up their past relationship now?

Of course, Jono just wanted to talk about his son.

 _An' I don't really take it personal. He hardly knows me, after all. How could he love me?_ Jono added with a sad shrug. _But I'm trying my best to give the boy what he needs, but what the little bloke needs I can't give him. Nobody can. He wants 'is mum_.

"His ... mum?" Paige asked.

They were treading into delicate territory now. Of course, she had heard it from Jubilee (who was a walking breathing gossip-mill) that Jono had fathered a son. _How_ , Paige had no idea and even Jubilee was at a loss to speculate (certainly a first for Ms. Lee). Paige had no idea Jono could even ... Well, she and Jono certainly hadn't _done that_ when they were a couple.

 _Oh, aye ... Gayle_ , Jono said morosely.

"Gayle Edgerton?!" Paige blurted out a little more loudly than she intended to. She was so shocked.

Lady Gayle Edgerton was an exotic heiress and Jono's old flame. Paige had always felt inadequate in the shadow of her beauty.

Jono nodded; he didn't seem to notice Paige's outburst. _You get it, right, Paigey? A boy loves his mum more than any other. Little boys are complete sops about their mothers, right_?

Jono peered imploringly at her. His big brown eyes seemed to desperately beg Paige to give his attempts at parenting some validation. _I'm doing OK, right? The boy just loathes me 'cause he wants 'is mum, right_? he pleaded.

"Um ..." Paige was suddenly at a loss for words.

Her own boys didn't seem very similar to Nick. Should she tell Jono how her twins liked to put roadkill animals in anthills to get skulls for their "collections?" Should she tell him how her boys only talked about themselves in the third person? Should she tell Jono how Lars and Locke were spurning her now even though they were only four and how she'd devoted every second of the past couple years to them?

"Well, yeah -"

Jono seemed infinitely relieved. _Dani says the same. She should know. Smart girl, that Dani Moonstar_ ...

"Hmm," Paige replied, furrowing her brow. Yes, this conversation was going downhill fast. _Moonstar?Really_?! she pondered unhappily.

Well, Jubilee was right about one thing - Jono hadn't changed in the least. He was still the mopey, pathetic dunderhead Paige had dated in high school ...

And he was still the same mopey, pathetic dunderhead exceptionally beautiful women found irresistible.

###

When the portal opened up in the kitchens, Nick poked his head out cautiously and glanced around. He could hear the muted rustle and murmur of many people moving around in the commons area of the treehouse. The kitchens seemed deserted though.

Breakfast was laid out on the counters, however. Strawberries, sausage links and ... Danish pastries. Nick swallowed hard in guilt when she thought about Miri. It all smelled wonderful though and his stomach grumbled with a different feeling.

Nick didn't feel guilty at all as he raked food into his pack. Hadn't this place tried (unintentionally or not) multiple times to kill him? The least it could do is feed him this one time. As he grabbed a couple juice boxes from the counter, he heard a sound he hadn't heard in a long time ... it was the tinny, cheerful sound of a ukulele. It was playing a soulful tune:

 _I may not always love you, but as long as there are stars above you. You never need to doubt it. I'll make you so sure about it_.

Nick's hand paused in mid-air reaching for a juice box. The last time he had heard a ukulele his mum had been playing it - back before she got too weak to hold it in her arms. A wishful thought popped into his head and his heart beat faster. No, it was impossible ... But there it was: The ukulele was playing the sweet song Nick's mum loved most - "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys.

His legs moved automatically, guided by his heart even though his brain was screaming the impossibility at him.

Nick turned a corner into a breakfast nook and saw a very pretty lady sitting in the cushioned booth playing a battered but serviceable ukulele. She was barefoot with many clinking bangles around her ankles. She had six toes instead of ten, long pointy ears and indigo skin. Nick thought he might have been afraid of her if she wasn't so beautiful.

Nevertheless, his heart plummeted at the sight of the blue woman and not his mother, but it was his own fault he was acting like a dumb baby. He was foolish to have hoped for the impossible.

 _Oh_ , he thought. _It's what's-her-name_ ?

A part of his brain he wasn't even aware of promptly replied: _Talia. Ms. Natalia Wagner. "TJ" for short. Also known as Nocturne._

Nick was shocked that he knew this deluge of information about this lady he'd only seen once. Had he even heard the part about her nickname being "TJ?" He didn't think he had. No, he definitely hadn't.

 _Call her TJ_! that strange new part of his brain yelped at him like a little kid waving his hand in the air to answer a question. _Do it! She'll think you're so smart_!

Nick was about to reply: _No, don't be stupid. Why would I care about impressing her?_ But instead he thought: _Yeah, OK, then she'll think I'm so wonderful and clever_ !

Nick frowned in bewilderment at his peculiar thoughts. He tried to force his legs to take him backwards, away from Talia, but instead his legs propelled him _forward_ into her line of sight.

Why was he doing this?!

"Hey, TJ," he said smoothly.

 _You did it! You did it_! his brain cried hysterically.

Beautiful Talia looked up at him with her clear yellow eyes. She didn't seem surprised to see him skulking around the kitchens instead of being out in the commons area where he belonged.

She did seem flattered that he knew her nickname. "Guten Tag," she said, smiling. Her white teeth had little pointy fangs.

Nick's brain seemed to make an excited sound similar to _Aiee! She smiled at meee! Now do something really cool to make her remember you!_

 _This is dumb_! Nick tried to reason with his stupid brain, but his thoughts were having none of it.

Barely realizing he was doing it, Nick leaned his palm up against the counter-edge in the hopes of making himself look very dashing and rakish. What he did was accidentally flip over a pan of cinnamon buns and then precede to kiss the floor.

Talia giggled.

 _Well, she'll definitely remember me now_ , Nick growled at his brain as he angrily wiped icing from his forehead. _Happy_?

But all his brain said was: _She laughed! Omygod she laughed! Let's do something to make her laugh again!_

 _NO_! Nick snapped. _I've made enough of a fool of myself … Hey, I've got an idea! Let's do something to make her laugh again!_

"Soooo, you play the uke?" he asked her.

Talia's small smile widened into a grin. Nick's heart soared in elation.

"I play a wide array of instruments," she replied. "When I was a little older than you I started a band. I was on lead vocals, but I played everything from the upright bass to the bassoon."

Nick slipped into the booth next to her. She didn't talk condescendingly to him the way other grownups did. He really liked that.

Talia sighed in a nostalgic way. "We called ourselves the Exiles. My ex-boyfriend played lead guitar. I really miss those guys ..."

 _Ex-boyfriend_ ...? that strange new part of Nick's brain whispered to him. _Ms. Talia is single and ready to mingle. But she misses him. No. She said them; she misses THEM. Hmmm_ ...

"You split up over creative differences?" he asked sympathetically. Very smooth. He was keeping it casual while still insinuating that her ex-boyfriend was no good and there were other guys _right here_ who would respect her creativity more.

"They became lost in the timestream that flows between alternate realities," she replied with a gentle smile. "But, yes, the band had creative differences. The band was prog thrash genre, but I wanted us to be more indie rock."

Nick stared down at his clasped hands. "So, um, your boyfriend - I mean, _friends_ , aren't coming back?"

Talia gazed at him with her pupiless eyes. "They aren't coming _here_. No. I don't think so ... for the longest time I thought they would."

"Oh ..." Nick thought of his mum. He looked at his stuffed backpack and sighed with sadness. He suddenly felt very foolish and small. "I ... I mean, _you_ , were so silly to think you could be together, that things could go back to being the same way they always were?"

Oh, shoot! That was a stupid thing to say! Nick felt like facepalming himself to death. He glanced sidelong at Talia to see if she was offended, but she just kept studying him in her patient way. She nodded.

"Yes, that's right. You ... I mean, _I_ missed them so much. But I knew, deep down in my heart, that I wouldn't see them again." Talia smiled in a sad way. "At first it was so hard. I didn't think I could survive here without them, but I did."

"How?" Nick asked. He wanted to scream the question at her. He wanted to fling himself on the floor and kick and scream like an angry baby. How on Earth could he survive without his mum? It was unthinkable that he could exist in this world without her.

Talia looked around the room like she was seeing it for the first time. "It wasn't easy, but I realized that this world I live in without them is still a wonderful, amazing place full of other people who still love me very much. Acknowledging that doesn't make you a traitor, you know. It just means you're a healthy human being."

Nick glanced up sharply at her. _Did she just read my thoughts_? he asked himself. Jono had told him about telepaths - people who could read minds. But they weren't supposed to; that was very wrong. Talia didn't seem like a _bad_ person.

"I can't read minds, Nick. I just have a very good sense of hearing," Talia said with a wink.

"Oh!" Nick replied, his head snapping up. "That's why you didn't look surprised to see me here? You heard me moving around in the kitchen?" he asked, amazed, because he had been moving around as quietly as possible.

"Yes ..." Nocturne murmured mysteriously. She didn't say she had heard other things too. She didn't say how she had heard Nick sing "God Only Knows" every morning while he dried the dishes with his mum. Afterward, Gayle would sit with her son in her lap and teach him how to strum the strings on her ukulele.

At that moment, Jono and Paige came stumbling out of a teleportation portal into the kitchen. _Nick, thank heavens_! Jono cried out telepathically.

As Jono rushed forward in knee-weakening relief to embrace his son, Nick's first instinct was to brush off his dad in annoyance. But then the boy looked into his father's eyes and saw the mixture of panic, desperation and relief there. Nick's heart turned over. Jono was _trying_ ... And Nick realized, for the very first time really, his dad was all he had now.

No, that wasn't true. There was Miri and Dani and ... and ...

Talia squeezed Nick's shoulder. "I was just going to tell Nick that I need a uke-player in my band," she said to Jono. "I think he would be an awesome fit. I've heard him play..."

Nick gazed up at her wonderingly. Talia's tall pointed ears wiggled in a playful manner. _I have a very good sense of hearing_ ... she had said.

Nick smiled at her. OK, so maybe he'd give this place a shot. After all, TJ had. Nick allowed Jono to squeeze him in a crushing hug - for about 30 seconds.

"Kay, Dad, you're crushing me," he gasped.

 _Ah, sorry, son_ , Jono said. But Nick had let him hug the boy. It wasn't much, but it was progress.

Talia shook hands warmly with Jono. "I'm not surprised Nick's such a prodigy. It's an honor to meet you. I listened to your music when I was just a little elf, Mr. Starsmore."

 _Now yer makin me feel old, Ms. Wagner_! Jono replied, a tad embarrassed.

"Please call me TJ."

"That's what her _friends_ call her," Nick interjected, lifting his chin somewhat defiantly. Nick and his father had made great strides today in their relationship, but Nick had seen Talia first.

Nick wasn't the only one feeling a bit territorial. Paige cleared her throat a little too loudly as Jono continued to hold Talia's three-fingered hand.

 _This is Paige, me old classmate_ ...

"Girlfriend," Paige said abruptly.

 _Ex-girlfriend_ , Jono added drolly.

Talia glanced between them. She had heard every word of their awkward conversation earlier. Furthermore, she could hear Paige's heartbeat accelerate whenever she saw a beautiful woman approach Jono.

Nate popped his head through a teleportation portal into the kitchen. He spotted Nick and the concern in his one exposed blue eye turned to relief and irritation.

"Ah, TJ, good, you found the scamp!" Nate saw the way the Starsmores were each holding onto Talia's hands and his annoyed grimace deepened into another expression entirely.

Talia's extraordinary ears heard the sweat pop out of Cable's palms and his breathing accelerate. She couldn't help but smile. The grim and fearsome Cable had a crush on her.

As Jono and Paige herded Nick towards Nate's teleportation portal, Talia tapped Nick's shoulder. "Nicki, try to think of a name for our band, OK?"

Nick gave her his first smile since he arrived at the treehouse. "How about the New Exiles?"

 **Next time: American Ninja Warrior - mutant-style!**


	14. Meddlesome Mom

**_To BlueFictionStudios - Thanks a million for the kind words! I and all of my family are currently recovering from sickness, so writing is unfortunately slow-going._**

 ** _I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's short and sweet, but pretty funny._**

 ** _As always, read and review!_**

 ** _Thanks, Maria_**

 ** _The X-Men belong to Marvel._**

 ** _Episode 14: Meddlesome Mom_**

"Jean, you _knew_!" Nate exploded angrily.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," his stepmother replied, but she was wearing a self-assured smile of pure false innocence. For the most powerful being in the universe, Jean Grey could be as petty as hell. The fact that the almost omnipotent telepath might be meddling in her seven-foot-tall grizzled stepson's love life would have been downright hilarious – if it didn't irk Nate so.

Nate planted his ham-sized hands on the edge of her kitchen table, making the china teacups rattle ominously. "Yes you do! Don't play dumb, Jean! You knew me and Neena were an item! But you hired her anyway!"

Jean stilled the rattling tea-service with her telekinesis. "Nathan, if you kill me, I will inevitably rise from the ashes of death as the Phoenix that I am, but heaven help you if you break this antique tea-set. Unlike me, it cannot be regenerated."

Jean was calmly buttering a muffin, but something in her voice made Cable pause. His stepmom was as warm and loving as a hug, but her "do-not-push-your-luck" tone never failed to scare him. He meekly put his hands in his lap, but he cut his pale blue eye in Rachel's direction. His half-sister was hugging herself in barely-suppressed laughter. The siblings had dropped by Jean's private living quarters in the treehouse for breakfast. Well, Rachel had. Nate had come by to confront Jean about hiring his ex-girlfriend Domino to his daycare staff.

When Cable pinned Rachel with another icy glare, she burst out laughing. "S-Sorry …!" she hiccupped, tears running down her face.

Nate growled and took a telekinetic swipe at his sister. Rach bridled, levitated Jean's breakfast muffin and took aim with the baked good at her baby bro's head. Jean intervened before things could get out of hand – or out of mind as the case may be. She plucked the muffin out of the air with her own telekinesis and stabbed her daughter with a warning glance. Rach stifled a giggle.

"What's so funny?" Kitty said, phasing through the wall and swiping a muffin off the table. Kitty Pryde often dropped in for breakfast at Jean's place. Kitty was a notoriously bad cook though she blamed the X-Men, and Jean in particular, for stifling her culinary creativity when she was young. The X-Men had faced everything from man-eating sentient islands to telepathic space-birds, but Jean was most terrified her teammates would die from food poisoning due to Kitty's terrible cooking.

Rach glanced at Kitty, her blue eyes sparkling with glee.

"Don't you do it, Rach! Don't you dare say a word!" Nate snarled.

"Oh, I won't dare _say a word_ to Kitty," Rachel said furtively, already telepathically relaying the story to her best friend.

"Out! Out, both of you!" Jean cried, shooing out the two giggling girls. "You nosy little hens!"

Kitty and Rachel retreated, still laughing so hard they were crying, holding hands so Rach could phase through the wall alongside Kitty.

"So Cable's on the same team as his ex? Ouch, poor thing," Kitty gasped when she caught her breath.

Rachel shrugged her freckled shoulders, looking almost exactly like Jean when she did that, except she was a good two heads taller than her mom. "I'm not too worried about my big little brother. He can handle himself, believe me."

"I wasn't talking about Nate. I was talking about poor Domino," Kitty commented wryly. "Could you imagine a girl like her making it with a guy like Cable?"

"Yuck, no!" Rachel said, pulling a face at the mere suggestion of her brother's love life. "And _you_ couldn't either, Kitty Pryde, you greedy girl!" Rach teased her pretty friend. Kitty's childhood sweetheart, Piotr Rasputin, had given her a son, but beautiful Kitty Pryde owned the hearts of at least a hundred different women - including Neena Thurman.

Every piece of her own heart, however, belonged to Rachel Summers – only Rach, the most intuitive of telepaths, had never acknowledged her best friend's loving devotion for her.

 **###**

Jean wiped her hands together as if she'd just accomplished a difficult task. She adored her daughter and Kitty, who had come to the X-Men when she was just a little girl, Jean loved like her own. But Jean knew better than anyone how inseparable – and insufferable – those two could be.

Still, it did Jean's heart good to see Rachel smile, let alone laugh. The poor girl hadn't had it easy in life and Kitty made her happy; Jean just wished her stubborn daughter could see that.

And, above all else, she wished Kitty and Rachel could learn to use a door like normal people.

Shaking her head, Jean turned back to her stepson with a serious expression. "Listen to me, Nathan Christopher, I hired Neena because you needed a good, capable girl on your staff who met your stringent requirements. And she's all of those things and more."

Nate gave a grudging grunt. It was true. Neena was very, very good at what she did. And she adored children; God knows she wanted a dozen.

"I had no idea of your connection with her until you two were … _reunited_ face-to-face and her thoughts concerning you projected loud enough to slap me in the face, understand?"

Nate felt sheepish and ashamed, like when he was a little kid and Jean was scolding him for being naughty. When he tried to stammer out an excuse (or an apology), Jean stabbed her index finger at him in a warning gesture. "And if you ever _think_ I might do something as unscrupulous as entering someone's mind unbidden, you better _rethink_ , buster! I am nothing similar to that Emma Frost creature …" she added in a mutter.

"But I thought Emma was an ethical telepath now …?" Nate asked in a meek voice.

Jean waved her index finger in his face. It was her mom-way of counting to three. Nate sighed. Arguing with Jean was futile. She would eventually make you believe there was no argument to begin with.

She crossed her arms in a self-satisfied manner as she levitated the teapot with her mind and poured herself a cup of steaming tea in mid-air. "Now, you better hurry along – don't want to keep your students waiting." She made a shooing motion in his direction. "It _is_ the first actual day of classes at your daycare. You want to set a good example for all those eager little learners."

Nate did a lot of huffing as he got up, partly because he was ticked off and partly because he was so massive that, seated at Jean's breakfast table, he looked like a grown man squeezed in at a toddler's tea-party.

"Oh, and Nathan," Jean called as he headed out the door. "You really shouldn't worry about Domino causing any drama being here. I've known long before now you haven't the slightest interest in rekindling things with your ex-girlfriends, nice girl though Neena is, and I've made her understand that, more or less."

Nate froze, sensing danger. He glanced nervously over his shoulder at his stepmom who was trying to stifle a smirk into her teacup.

"I know TJ Wagner has you wrapped around her six little fingers," Jean stated.

This was just too much. "Jean! You swore to me you didn't -! You couldn't-! Go inside my thoughts!" Unlike many other people, Nate had been trained since childhood to erect and maintain mental barriers to keep from projecting his stronger thoughts and emotions to any psychics nearby. He wouldn't "let slip" his private thoughts about Talia, not even to a powerful telepath like Jean Grey.

"No, no. That's true. But maybe next time be a little less conspicuous and a bit more verbally quiet when you're flexing in front of the bathroom mirror."

Nate's jaw dropped. He had no idea whether to be livid at his stepmom for overhearing his spoken admirations of the lovely Ms. Natalia, furious at himself for speaking his very private thoughts aloud (for, like many telepaths, Nate sometimes took for granted that he could outthink anyone and that made his tongue lose and careless) or eternally grateful to Jean for not bringing this up around Rachel. Nate's half-sister would make this revelation ten times worse.

As he was mulling over these thoughts in his mind, Jean closed the door behind him with a gentle telekinetic click.

 **Next time: School's. In. Forever.**


	15. School Daze and Soufflés

**_Aloha everyone! I've been extremely busy and traveling, so this story has (unfortunately) been put on the backburner. But fortunately I am finding time for it now. I am hoping to update it more frequently._**

 ** _To kataract52 - Oh, geez, yes, talk to me about crappy immune systems. You're preaching to the choir! I am hoping to get well and stay well, my friend! Haha, yes! I love the bond between Jean and Nate, always have. I am glad I can brighten your day and make you laugh._**

 ** _Thanks! Please keep reading and reviewing!_**

 ** _-Maria_**

 ** _Episode 15: School Daze and S_** ** _oufflés_**

School began as the rose tree blossoms came down from the treehouse canopy in showers of swirling pink. Each day at X-Force Daycare bled into the next one until something young Nick had initially dreaded became something he almost looked forward to.

School really surprised him. The teachers surprised him. Some were grumpy; some were nice. A few were fun and a few were very scary. All were very interesting. School was many things for little Nick, but it was never dull.

Risty was cool. She knew more about paintings and art than anyone else except for Nick's mum, of course, who knew about everything in his opinion. Nick really liked learning about the different artists like Botticelli and Velazquez and Picasso and Frida Kahlo. Their paintings were crazy and weird, but they were nothing compared to how crazy and weird the _artists_ themselves were. No wonder their work was so strange.

Nick's favorite artist was Van Gogh. His self-portrait had big sad eyes – and just one ear, of course. Risty wanted the children to paint a self-portrait when they studied about Rembrandt. Rembrandt's self-portrait was very intimidating the way he glared out of the canvas like that. Nick liked Van Gogh better.

Before they painted their self-portrait, the children had to peer into a mirror at their reflections. Nick examined his brown eyes, messy shock of hair and small nose that tilted up at the tip. He really did look a bit like his dad which filled him with indignation. Things were a bit better now between Nick and Jono, but they still weren't exactly friends.

"A self-portrait doesn't just show what's on the outside, but what's on the inside as well," Risty told the class in her pert refined voice.

Risty's words were very snappy; her accent reminded Nick of his mum's.

"It is a representation of the artist's very _Essence_. _Essence_!" Risty exclaimed, punching her palm with her fist for emphasis and making Nick jump a bit.

Risty looked exactly like Nick would imagine an art teacher to look. She was short with closely cropped purple hair. She wore a threadbare smock with the sleeves rolled up, like she was always ready to work.

Nick glanced back at his reflection in the glass. _Essence_ . He picked up his paintbrush and began to dab paint on his easel.

 **###**

Monet was the teacher he had dreaded most – and the one that surprised him the most. He was afraid of her because she constantly picked fights with the other grownups and she was the most gigantic woman he had ever seen besides. M was a good head taller than his father with her arms bound up in muscles. Her glossy black hair swept around her like a majestic cape.

Monet could fly. She was telepathic and super strong. She was a beautiful and beastly warrioress. And yet … when she was around little kids Monet St. Croix was a lamb. It was as though she didn't have to continually show-off or put up a fierce front when she was only surrounded by small people.

M was big and burly enough to withstand Joe's utter recklessness and Mel's temper tantrums, but she knew about the shy little ones too.

Nick remembered how terrified he was when his soufflé fell during Monet's deportment and cooking class. He spent the time M was inspecting the other kids' progress gnawing away at his fingernails.

Perhaps he wouldn't have felt so bad if he'd noticed how his classmates were doing.

Instead of mixing and baking their soufflé, Mel and Becka argued the entire time. Mel kept thinking about the little unborn baby birds inside their eggs; she couldn't bear to crack one open.

After watching only half of Monet's demonstration, Isa swept around the kitchen in a blinding blur. When the dust settled around the little girl, a perfectly golden-brown soufflé perched on the counter next to her.

Even the perpetually unimpressed M blinked at Isa in wonder.

"D-Did you do all of that by yourself, Isabelle?"

"Yes'm!"

"In, um ..." Monet checked her watch. "Approximately 16.5 seconds?"

"I'm free years old!" Isa replied.

M narrowed her eyes at the girl. "I-Is that my wallet?"

"Nome," said Isa, tucking a very mysterious wallet-looking item into her pocket.

Locke and Lars had prepared a soufflé as perfect as Isa's. Monet opened their over door to inspect their culinary masterpiece. The soufflé was a perfect puffy brown work of art ... with a skull-and-crossbones somehow imprinted on its crust.

M backed slowly away from the smiling twins. "Uuh ... you two get a B-plus."

Locke and Lars high-fived, never breaking eye-contact with their teacher. Monet shuddered.

Joe stood still (for once), beaming up at the imposing figure of Monet St. Croix.

"Well, Joseph?" she asked.

Joe pointed to the soufflé dish - where a single rock lay.

"T-That's a rock ..." M murmured.

"I like rocks!" Joe said cheerfully. "They're tasty!"

One black eyebrow slanted _way_ down on Monet's temple. "I'll give you a C."

"Hooray!" shouted Joe.

When she got to Nick with another tilted black eyebrow and a "Starsmore?" Nick was a nervous wreck. When she saw his ruined soufflé, her beautiful face turned down in a scowl.

Nick knew this was it for him. He wanted to die like a man, with some dignity, but he burst into frantic tears.

"Starsmore, you know what you must do now?" Monet asked him calmly.

"Die? Be expelled?" he hiccupped between bouts of crying. "Please say I'll die before I'm expelled!"

Better to be a dead hero than a living failure, Nick concluded.

"What? No," M answered. "Here, blow your nose. Remember the proper use of your hankie."

Nick nodded up at her as he honked as inconspicuously as possible into the handkerchief she handed to him. She tapped her foot as she examined his deflated soufflé. "What you must do … is _pray!_

"Um … huh?" Nick stammered. "Wha ...?"

Were his ears clogged up as well as his nose?

"Yes!" Monet nodded wisely. "You must _pray_ to, the, uh, to the - soufflé god!"

Nick gawked at the giant woman before squawking another: "Huh?"

"Please do not stare and please do not mutter, Starsmore. _Enunciate_ ," Monet replied. "Yes!" she raised her voice to address the entire class. "Let's all pray to the generous god of soufflés that she will bless Starsmore with better success in the making of pastries."

Nick gave her a wary glance. Was she making fun of him? M seemed like the kind of grownup that might tease a little kid. But this didn't seem like a mean prank. Monet was nodding in a sincere fashion and the other children were chiming in excitedly.

"Yes!" said Miri.

"All right!" cried Isa, clapping her hands.

"Hmm ... acknowledging a being one has no concrete, sensory evidence of let alone any evidence of stated being actually aiding in the creation of soufflés seems dubious at best, at worst - OW!" Becka exclaimed, for her conjoined twin, Mel, had stomped the foot on Becka's side of their shared body _hard_.

"Right on, Nick!" Mel cheered.

Nick had noticed the tall girl with the amber eyes going out of her way to acknowledge him. He still had no idea why. Was she trying to be his friend? Nick had heard his mum use the phrase "out of his league" when referring to a similar situation of an awkward, uninteresting boy piquing the interest of a cool girl. Gayle had been referring to Jono and herself, of course.

"We have burned this soufflé as a sacrifice to the soufflé god to appease her bloodlust - er, _bake_ -lust," Monet explained.

It sounded silly, but the other kids cheered again.

"We shall make many more sacrifices to our new pagan god," Lars said ominously.

"Baked and _otherwise_ ..." Locke added with a sinister grin.

Nick edged away from the twin boys. _Eesh_! They were creepy.

"Oh, hooray!" shouted Joe. "I always wanted to be part of a cult!"

"Now, let us recite the Prayer to the soufflé god," Monet ordered, folding her hands in a position of prayer before closing her eyes and chanting reverently:

 _"O God of Souffles, Deity of the Sponge Cake and Jelly Roll,_

 _Oddly specific Guardian of but a small sector of the culinary arts,_

 _Contemporary of Lord Wellington and Bene', Goddess of Poached Eggs._

 _Sing through me a prayer of exaltation and adoration_

 _And guide my whisk as it beats the eggs with great vigor, but even speed._

 _Amen!"_

"Amen!" the class replied in robust tones.

"Uh, amen?" Nick echoed uncertainly.

A very small cockroach appeared on the edge of the whisk Nick had been using. Instead of screaming and flailing about the way most grownups would do when faced with a cockroach, M pointed at the insect in excitement.

"Behold! A sign from the soufflé god!" she cried. "She blesses us with a visitation of her earthly animal incarnation."

"Why would the soufflé god chose a cockroach as her animal?" Nick asked, suspicion mounting. "Aren't they very dirty?"

"Actually, cockroaches are quite fastidious," Becka replied. "Often cleaning themselves when touched by humanoid hands."

"It is a sign, yes! That we must make a _new_ soufflé ! This time whisking the eggs at a vigorous, but temperate speed in a counterclockwise direction!" Monet cried.

"B-But you're only saying the same thing you told me to do earlier," Nick argued. "Only this time with gods and boogeymen!"

The class, however, was not listening to Nick.

"Hooray, hooray! The god has spoken! Go, Nick, go!" the other kids cheered.

Even Becka added: "A fine redemption for the hardy cockroach which tends to suffer a bad rep with the bipedal population. Yes, help our six-legged brother, Nicholas! Be his champion!"

The children, shouting with glee, jostled Nick in a good-natured fashion back to his cooking station. He thought this whole "religion" thing was rubbish, but he'd never been cheered on before or called a "champion." He really liked the sound of that.

And he didn't feel out of his mind with nerves the way he had on his first go when he thought Monet would pounce on him and devour him whole. He felt so much more confident with the woman smiling her encouragement at him as he cracked the eggs and whisked them fast, but not too hard.

The timer on the oven chimed. Nick, a streak of batter on his cheek, held his breath as he peeked in the door at the light pink strawberry soufflé . It wasn't picture perfect - nothing like Isa's - but it did look a bit more like a soufflé than a failed baking soda volcano experiment.

He couldn't help but puff out his chest with pride at his handiwork.

"Ah, Starsmore, it seems the culinary gods have smiled down upon you today," M stated.

"Actually, it appears Nick's culinary skills improved due to a boost in confidence, practice and decreased anxiety," Becka rationalized.

"You silly child," M replied, but there was a wry smile playing around her pretty full lips. "It was all the gods' doing, of course."

"Of course," Nick concurred with a shy grin at his teacher. He realized he was no longer afraid of Monet St. Croix. " _Amen_."

"Hmph! Well," Becka gave a grudging snort. "I do appreciate Nicholas Starsmore championing the noble but misunderstood cockroach."

Nick's grin widened. He didn't realize until much later he hadn't corrected anyone when they called him "Starsmore."

 **Next time: Class portraits!**


End file.
